Business & Tech
Training For NJ Prison Inmates Could Ease Worker Shortages: Advocates
VIDEO: "There isn't a lack in workers – there is a lack of investment," a New Jersey mayor said.
NEW JERSEY — Want to give people leaving prison a better chance at success? Give them the tools they need to land a job and earn a living, New Jersey advocates say.
Just ask Ulysses McMillian, a participant in a New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC) program that is designed to help court-involved people to get back on their feet.
“Reentry started behind the wall, with accepting responsibility,” said McMillian, one of several former inmates who spoke at the nonprofit’s annual reentry conference earlier this month (watch the video below).
Find out what's happening in Newarkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Now I'm working to pay my debt forward,” McMillian attested. “A lot of people just want a chance.”
“Anyone can wind up in prison, no matter where you're from,” agreed Douglas Kissel, another NJRC participant.
Find out what's happening in Newarkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
This year’s annual conference took place at St. Peter’s University Mac Mahon Student Center, attracting a lineup of advocates and elected officials – as well as people who have firsthand experience “behind the wall.”
According to the NJRC – which has run a host of job training programs across the Garden State over the years – a career can make a world of difference for someone leaving prison. And education plays a crucial role:
“One year after release, the national employment average for federal returning citizens is 37.5 percent. The NJRC statistic, here at home, is a 57.25 percent employment rate. The dramatic employment difference is for those NJRC participants, who have received a licensed credential at our training center: for licensed persons the employment rate shoots up to 92 percent.”
The bottom line? There is a 35 percent increase in employability for people who have earned industry-recognized credentials, the nonprofit says, whether it’s construction, electric, welding, phlebotomy, peer recovery, health care or computers.
"By going through reentry...this was the main thing to getting back on my feet after prison. I have a job that I love tomorrow, a woman in my life, and tomorrow I get paid!"
— New Jersey Reentry Corporation (@NJ_Reentry) April 6, 2023
Several people at the conference said job training for inmates can also help tackle worker shortages that have left businesses scrambling across the state, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
“There isn’t a lack in workers,” Baraka said. “There is a lack of investment.”
That viewpoint is shared by Don Katz, the founder of Audible, which moved its headquarters to Newark in 2007.
“It is clear that incarceration can create lifelong obstacles for those who have been released, from voting rights disenfranchisement to housing inequities and employment challenges,” Katz said.
- See Related: Nonprofit Helps Ex-Inmates In Newark Find Jobs, Stay Out Of Jail
- See Related: East Orange Offers Ex-Offenders Ways To 'Get Back To Work'
- See Related: Prison Inmates In NJ Deserve A Second Chance, Clergy Members Plead
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
