Inmates Receive Work Training Program At Community College

MANASSAS, VA — Six inmates at the Prince William-Manassas Adult Detention Center completed a work release training program to increase their chances of finding gainful employment after their release. The inmates completed the Heavy Equipment Operator Program at Lord Fairfax Community College.

The program used money from the Virginia Community College System and the Virginia General Assembly. This training intended to help inmates find gainful employment when they are released. People who are released from jail are less likely to commit another crime if they are able to find steady employment, according to a news release from the Prince William County Government.

During the program, the inmates used simulators to gain experience operating heavy equipment. The participants all received a credential, which will help them in their job search.

Lt. Wilson Creighton-Bey is the program manager for the Adult Detention Center's work release facility. "Inmates that leave the jail without a job, without training, a lot of times, they’re set up for failure, because they’re no better off than when they came in," Creighton-Bey said. "A good job with a decent wage will keep them out of jail."

The training program was a partnership between the detention center, the Lord Fairfax Community College, and SkillSource Group Inc., a non-profit organization that helps Northern Virginia residents find jobs.

"We feel like it’s very important work to be able to provide services to individuals before they’re even released,” said Seema Jain, SkillSource Group, Inc's vice president of operations. "That way, they can be connected to our community employment centers that we have across the region. It gives them a better link to employment services."

The program also provided the inmates with the opportunity to connect with prospective employers. "After the six-week training program, there were employers on site to interview on the last day of class," said Ann Hyslop, the Northern Virginia program director for Virginia Career Works.

Three of the program's six participants have already accepted job offers for when they are released. "I was offered a job the day I get out making $18 an hour, which is about $6 an hour more than I was making before I got incarcerated," said Patrick Walsh, one of the program participants. Walsh is scheduled to be released and start his new career in April.

A secure job greatly decreases the chances that a former inmate will be arrested again, according to a study released in the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. This is especially true in the first six months following an inmate's release.

There are approximately 4,000 open positions for heavy equipment operators in Northern Virginia, according to the Prince William County government. Those who complete the heavy equipment operators program are in high-demand.

Kenneth Garrison is the executive director of the Heavy Construction Contractors Association. "In many cases there’s an aggressive competition in who gets to hire the graduates," he said. "These are good-paying jobs and valuable to keep."

The adult detention center's program was the first of its kind, the Prince William government said. It is the first time that inmates attended a course at a community college as part of a work release program.

The program was funded by an Economic Equity Initiative grant that the Virginia Community College System awarded to SkillSource Group Inc. FastForward, a program from the Virginia General Assembly that helps workers achieve credentials, also helped fund the program.