(DAYTON, Ohio) – May 24, 2023 – During a reentry fair today at the Dayton Correctional Institution, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted highlighted funding in the executive budget proposal to support and promote job training and other life-preparation programs for those preparing to be released from prison.
The budget proposal includes about $20 million to support programs that offer connections to resources such as employment services, job readiness training, and family reintegration. Funds would also be used to hire “whole-life coaches” who would support individuals with finding employment, transportation, and recovery services. Short- and long-term housing support would also be expanded.
“Housing is the foundation of successful reentry, yet one of the biggest challenges individuals face after prison is finding a place to live,” said Governor DeWine. “By investing in enhanced housing support and career training, we can help our incarcerated populations find meaningful employment upon release, which will support Ohio’s critical workforce needs and reduce the likelihood that these individuals will re-offend.”
Additionally, Lt. Governor Husted, director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation (OWT), announced the Tower Technician Training program, spearheaded by OWT and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction (ODRC), that works with employer-partners to train soon-to-be-released inmates for jobs in the telecommunications industry, specific to broadband expansion efforts.
“Ohio is aggressively looking to expand our broadband infrastructure. We have free job training programs that any Ohioan can take advantage of, yet we still don’t have an adequate workforce to build it,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “I commend the industry for their willingness to train individuals who are leaving incarceration so that they can join the workforce and lead lives of hope and purpose while building the infrastructure that will expand broadband access to more Ohioans.”
Through this program, the soon-to-be-released inmates can become a member of the skilled workforce, ready to build, maintain, and repair the broadband and 5G networks that Ohioans use every day.
At the end of this month, eight individuals from the Mansfield and Richland Correctional Institutions will begin to receive tower technician training from North Central State College followed by a work-release program with an employee partner. The graduates of the program will then have the chance to interview with employer partners with the ultimate goal of being placed in tower technician roles in Ohio upon release.
“The mission of our agency is to reduce recidivism, and the best way to do that is to prepare the people leaving our prisons for success,” said ODRC Director Annette Chambers-Smith. “Thousands of people leave our prisons each year, and we want to equip them with the tools and skills to join the workforce. Job training, education, stable housing, and reentry support service are rehabilitative necessities to keep people on the right path and create safer communities in Ohio.”
The Tower Technician Training program is part of Ohio’s Broadband and 5G Workforce Strategy, through OWT and BroadbandOhio, and in collaboration with NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association and ODRC. This program trains more Ohioans to fill critically needed tower technician roles and to encourage companies across the state to leverage this untapped pool of potential workers, while giving a second chance to formerly incarcerated Ohioans.
AT&T relies on a network of contractors that employ tower technicians to install and maintain their cellular network and to roll out 5G. AT&T is encouraging its contractors in Ohio to hire restored citizens completing this tower technician program to help close the talent gap and ensure Ohio’s 5G network is deployed quickly and efficiently.
“The work to expand and enhance wired and wireless networks, taking fast broadband connections all across Ohio, means our industry must have an even deeper pool of skilled workers,” said Molly Kocour Boyle, president of AT&T Ohio. “AT&T supports upskilling, training and second-chance hiring programs, including this one. Our agreements with vendors and suppliers give them the discretion. They can hire a job candidate who has had a conviction. That restored citizen can, through this program, become a member of the skilled workforce that is ready to build, maintain and repair the broadband networks that Ohioans are utilizing more and more with each passing day.”
Individuals interested in learning more about Second Chance Hiring and Reentry into the workforce, can visit: https://drc.ohio.gov/systems-and-services/2-reentry-services/reentry-services.