January 28, 2021
Florida offenders are trading in their prison jumpsuits for Tallahassee Community College Transportation and Logistics program uniforms. Through an ongoing partnership with the Florida Department of Corrections, 24 transitioning offenders will receive the skills needed to support a smooth transition back into the workforce while earning the nationally recognized industry credential, the commercial driver’s license (CDL).
The class starts tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 29 at 8 a.m. and lasts for eight weeks. A total of three groups of 8 individuals will complete training by June 30, 2021 in this program. Since these individuals are still serving a sentence, the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) will transport them to a TCC facility where classes will be held. They will later return to the Tallahassee Community Release Center where they are actively working to complete their sentences.
Upon successful completion of the program, the transitioning offenders will earn their CDL and a vocational certificate which will position them for immediate employment once they have completed their sentences in a growing field with a self-sufficient wage. Note, reports show that individuals who participate in any type of educational program while in prison are 43% less likely to return to prison. In addition to reducing recidivism, education can improve outcomes from one generation to the next.
“TCC is committed to being innovative in our approach and more importantly in touch with the needs of our community,” said Kimberly A. Moore, Vice President for Workforce Innovation and TCC2WORK/Be Essential. “The fact that TCC through our partnership with the Florida Department of Corrections, is the first to carry out such a life changing initiative in the state speaks volumes.”
TCC has issued more than 1,100 credentials at five different corrections facilities and one work release center across Florida. TCC’s workforce programs include electrical, culinary, masonry, carpentry, HVAC and GED prep. The programs are located at the Jefferson Correctional Institution, Quincy Annex, Liberty Correctional, Taylor Correctional Annex and Gadsden Re-Entry. Nearly 180 inmates have been impacted from TCC’s vocational programs.
For more information, contact the Workforce Development Division at (850) 201-8760 or visit tcc.fl.edu/tcc2work.