Job training for inmates not new idea, but a good one

We all share the same goal in hoping that those who commit crimes can become productive members of society once they have served their sentence. That helps keep our communities safer, and reduces the cost of incarceration. That is why it is good to hear that the state of Wisconsin will be investing in making sure that prisoners get more than just three hots and a cot while behind bars. Governor Scott Walker has announced a plan to expand worker training facilities within the state’s prisons. Walker says he will spend between $25 and $45 million in his next budget to create five new technical training centers at the state’s correctional institutions. The money would be used to help our prison inmates learn skills that can help them gain employment after the have been released. The program would partner with Wisconsin’s technical colleges as well as private employers to help inmates become employable. Ensuring they have job skills can decrease the chance of them returning to a life of crime. And it would help solve the state’s workforce shortage. Employers statewide are having a hard time finding enough people with the right skills to fill their available jobs. Investing in teaching job skills for inmates is hardly a new idea. But it is good to see the state of Wisconsin is finally willing to make it happen.