STEM Job Training in Correctional Classrooms
Training people who are incarcerated to prepare for STEM jobs isn’t easy. The environment, the actual space, the rules, and the fear borne of safety concerns can conspire against correctional educators and higher education professionals who have the means and ideas necessary to prepare incarcerated individuals for 21st century jobs that provide a sustainable living wage. If you unpack that sentence, there’s a lot to discuss.
The problem is that STEM training frequently requires certain components that are just scary for correctional agencies, and many that pose violations to long-standing policies. For instance, access to the internet. Labs that utilize glass beakers and chemicals. The use of virtual classroom technology. The use of computers, laptops, or tablets. Tools that look suspiciously like weapons. There’s a long list of content, items, and activities that seem risky, and there are good reasons that correctional agencies are wary.
How, then, do we get to a place where the two million (give or take a few 100,000) people who are incarcerated and will return to their communities some day are competitive in today’s job market? STEM jobs, particularly middle skill STEM jobs, are in demand. It’s one employment gap across the country…a gap where there are more vacant jobs than there are qualified candidates to fill them…and goodness knows our prisons and jails are full of a potential workforce (P.S. Middle skill jobs are ones that require at least a high school diploma or equivalency and less than a four year degree. It could be an Associate’s degree, a completed apprenticeship, and/or an industry certification). `
What do these jobs look like? Think about cable splicers, copper and fiber optic network cablers, relay technicians, wind technicians, anything to do with CNC, computer programmers, network support technicians, network specialists, medical records technicians and assistants, VoIP programmers and technicians…the three main occupational fields where we see this gap are healthcare, information technology, and advanced manufacturing. Because workplace technologies change so quickly, employers are more and more frequently seeking data-literate generalists rather than narrowly trained specialists.
The attention to middle skill STEM preparation was really a hot topic starting in about 2016 (at least that’s when I became aware of the urgency and really started working hard on solutions inside the prison system where I was creating job training opportunities for students). It’s still a hot topic. What’s coming up in the next decade for which we should be preparing our students?
There will always be a change in skills needed as new technologies come on the scene. What skills do we need to provide students to keep up with tech innovations?
How will we, as service providers, continue to design and implement programs that stay abreast of workforce needs, including communicating changes in the workforce landscape to correctional agencies so that they understand the need and how these programs can be of benefit to students and institutions alike?
What are the pathways that students need to meet job requirements? Are we offering programs that meet employers’ needs? Are we providing programs that culminate in a viable credential for the learner?
How are we positively advocating for incarcerated students to be offered equity and opportunity in the STEM workforce upon release?
In my experience working inside correctional agencies, I’ve been tasked with finding creative ways to offer STEM job training (for instance, in one facility, there were no classrooms, so we offered everything on housing units, using tablets, laptops, and rolling in tools and all), and my current team helps bridge the gap between universities and correctional agencies to create procedures that will allow for program implementation with a basis of security and safety for the correctional staff. I’ve worked in some situations that really seemed impossible, but with everyone working together became possible. There are great service providers out there who have the expertise and patience to work toward a solution.
We can offer viable job training to people who need opportunities for employment that allows them to support themselves and their families, to take pride in a career, and to live without justice-involvement. And we can offer the workforce in our country well-trained employees who contribute positively to STEM innovation and our economy.
Sounds a lot like a win-win, doesn’t it?
I hope you’re finding peace and the excitement of living, all at the same time this morning. Some people (I’m not naming names) might call that a cup of coffee. :)
Hasta la vista, ya’ll.
P.S. S. Want to talk about any of this? Contact me here.
