Rewriting the Record: How Apprenticeships Unlock New Futures 

For people returning to their communities after incarceration, that history can feel inescapable, eclipsing their skills, potential, aspirations, and even their humanity. But apprenticeships offer a powerful way to rewrite that story: By combining hands-on training with paid employment, they provide a clear, proven path to a sustainable career, financial independence, and a sense of purpose.

That’s why workforce agencies, employers, training providers, and even individuals with records all have a role in expanding access to the promise of apprenticeships that lead to real skills, real jobs, and real second chances. It will require intentional design, inclusive policies, and a shared belief that people can move beyond their backgrounds. Registered Apprenticeships aren’t just a model; they’re a movement toward dignity and the promise of a fair chance at a fresh start, that can provide access to real economic opportunity that changes families, futures, and communities.

Registered Apprenticeship is also more than a reentry strategy. It’s a call to action for correctional system leaders, employers, and apprenticeship sponsors. With persistent labor shortages in many fields that already support apprenticeship programs, expanding access to Registered Apprenticeship opportunities for individuals with records is not just a matter of fairness; it’s a smart, strategic response to workforce needs.

By working together to integrate apprenticeship pathways into correctional systems and post-release transitions, we can unlock new futures for individuals, industries, and communities across the country.

Why Correctional Systems Should Invest in Apprenticeships

Numerous correctional facilities across the country actively partner with state apprenticeship agencies. Correctional systems have a unique opportunity and responsibility to serve as engines of economic mobility for the people in their care. By integrating high-quality training that embeds relevant industry certifications into correctional settings, systems can do the following:

• Equip incarcerated individuals with in-demand, transferrable skills that directly align with local labor market needs, increasing employability and reducing post-release placement time.
• Reduce recidivism through pathways to stable, long-term careers, offering individuals not just a job, but a future. Studies show that participants in correctional Registered Apprenticeship programs are significantly less likely to reoffend.
• Contribute to workforce development by cultivating a new pipeline of skilled talent ready to fill gaps in high-demand, high-need industries. Correctional facilities in multiple states have already begun partnering with state apprenticeship agencies to create talent pipelines that contribute directly to workforce development, filling critical labor gaps in high-need industries through structured, skills-based training.
• Provide employers with a skilled, ready-to-work talent pool that’s trained to meet real-world standards, reducing the time and cost of onboarding and increasing retention.
• Enhance rehabilitation efforts and reduce the economic burden of incarceration by turning time served into time invested in skills, identity, and purpose.

Why Employers Can’t Afford to Overlook People With Records

Many industries are facing an unprecedented shortage of skilled workers. Job openings in critical sectors like construction, manufacturing, health care, and transportation continue to outpace talent availability, and there are no signs of demand slowing down.

To meet this challenge, employers must expand their view of where talent comes from. One often-overlooked source, sidelined by stigma or unfamiliarity, is people with records. When given a fair chance, these individuals have consistently demonstrated loyalty, a strong work ethic, and a deep drive to succeed.

Registered Apprenticeships have federally approved standards that ensure consistency, quality, and wage progression. They provide the structure and support needed to unlock individual potential while directly addressing persistent workforce gaps. Registered Apprenticeships don’t just bridge the divide between skills and opportunity; they also foster the kind of loyalty and retention that today’s employers urgently need.

The Data Behind the Impact

Apprentices with records aren’t just succeeding—they’re exceeding expectations. Research shows that they can dramatically reduce their likelihood of reoffending by as much as 43% when provided with access to high-quality education and workforce training. While more data is needed to isolate outcomes from apprenticeship-specific interventions, evidence increasingly points to the value of combining career pathways with wraparound supports. Registered Apprenticeship programs provide a strong return on investment: completers earn an average starting wage of $77,000 per year and retain employment at over 93%. These programs don’t just benefit individuals; they provide employers with a reliable, motivated workforce and strengthen communities across the board.

Breaking the Cycle With Real Stories of Apprenticeships’ Impact 

Real stories illustrate the power of apprenticeships to change people’s lives with records, as these three examples show.

What Can Happen When One Employer Says Yes

After serving a decade in prison, Joshua Johnson, this publication’s coauthor, returned home with a singular focus: to stay out of prison and rebuild his life. At the time, he was earning $10 an hour loading construction tools onto a truck. He was grateful for the work but uncertain about his long-term future. Several coworkers encouraged him to consider an apprenticeship. One even offered to introduce him to members of the local Iron Workers Union. But Johnson wasn’t ready to take that leap. His only goal at the time was stability.

That changed when he applied for a position with Walsh Construction. While Johnson was completing his application in the front office, three employees walked in and began reviewing a stack of applications. One remarked, “I’d never hire someone who’s been to jail.” Before Johnson could respond, a man behind the desk looked up and said, “Not me. If someone is desperate enough to steal, then they’re desperate enough to come to work every day and make money.” That man was Jay Titus.

Two days later, Titus called Johnson and offered him a job.

On Johnson’s first day, Titus informed him that he had two weeks to prove himself and earn the chance to begin an apprenticeship. Determined not to let the opportunity slip away, Johnson threw himself into the work.

His dedication quickly paid off. In the summer of 2005, he was offered an apprenticeship through LIUNA (Laborers’ International Union of North America) Local 113 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as a construction craft laborer; he remains an active LIUNA member. He completed the program successfully and spent the next three years working as a journey worker, a grade checker, and assistant foreman.

In 2010, following the birth of his son, Johnson decided to pursue a career path that would offer more stability and long-term growth. He applied for a role in the Wisconsin state government’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. From there, he transitioned to the Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards, which is recognized as the state apprenticeship agency, as an apprenticeship training representative. Within a year and a half, he was promoted to section chief. Then, in 2019, Johnson was named state director of Wisconsin’s Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards.

Johnson’s journey from incarceration to leadership was made possible because one employer chose to see his potential rather than focus on a past mistake. Titus didn’t listen to those who warned against hiring someone with a record. Instead, he saw an opportunity to be part of someone’s success story.

Employers have the power to shape lives and strengthen communities. By opening their doors and extending opportunities through apprenticeship, they can be the reason someone like Johnson never looks back.

Johnson’s experience is not unique. It is a powerful testament to the effectiveness of apprenticeship as a workforce strategy for individuals reentering society.

Now in a national leadership role at Jobs for the Future, Johnson is a subject matter expert on apprenticeship and people who have experienced interactions with the criminal justice system. He is dedicated to expanding access to the same kinds of opportunities that once transformed his own life. His journey is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when an employer opens a door—not only did he walk through it, he dedicated his career to encouraging others to do the same.

Careers in Caring

Maria served 24 months in prison. She joined a health care pre-apprenticeship program in Ohio while living in transitional housing and working a night shift to stay afloat. She always wanted to work in health care but didn’t know how to get started and lacked credentials, connections, and confidence.

After meeting a case manager through her reentry program who told her about the opportunity, Maria applied and was accepted into the pre-apprenticeship, seeing it as her chance to finally pursue her dream.

The six-month program blended classroom instruction, on-the-job shadowing, and wraparound support services. Maria earned her Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) credential and immediately transitioned into a full-time role at a local senior care facility. The CNA credential is often a foundational step in the health care apprenticeship pipeline, serving as both a standalone qualification for entry-level employment and a gateway to advanced roles like Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or Registered Nurse (RN).

Today, she works in pediatrics at a regional hospital. Maria recently completed her phlebotomy certification and plans to become a registered nurse. She now serves as a peer mentor in the same program she graduated from, helping other women navigate the steps she once found overwhelming. She tells them, “I started by helping others heal. What I didn’t realize is it would heal me, too.”

No Past Too Heavy to Lift

With parents who worked in public service as a law enforcement officer and a nurse, John Carroll seemed destined for success. But by the time he turned 12, homelessness and his involvement in crime had erased any notion of a stable path. By age 20, Carroll had been sentenced to over 100 years in prison—a reality that shattered his family and forced him to face who he had become.

In prison, Carroll chose transformation. He earned his high school diploma, became a certified peer tutor, and found purpose in helping others learn to read—moments he described as “bringing you straight to tears.” Determined to keep growing, he joined a four-year facility-based electrical training program, using every opportunity to rebuild himself from the inside out.

In 2019, after spending 25 years behind bars, Carroll walked free—and into a new life. His sister helped him secure a driver’s license, and soon afterward, he interviewed with the Iron Workers Union Local 5 Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee. Unfamiliar with GPS navigation, he arrived late to the appointment, but his determination impressed the training director. “I just got out of jail after 25 years,” Carroll told him. “But I really want the opportunity to show you how hard I’ll work for this chance.”

Carroll got the opportunity and never looked back. For 16 months, he worked six days a week, 10 hours a day, never missing a shift. He saved up for a phone, then a truck, then a backup vehicle—overcoming every obstacle between him and success.

“In the Iron Workers apprenticeship [program], we’re in the business of building futures, not condemning people for their past,” said Local 5’s business manager, Aaron Bast.

Today, Carroll is more than an apprentice—he’s a mentor, a motivator, and a living example of fair chances in action. “I refuse to let my crimes, or my 25-year sentence, define me,” he said. “In fact, I credit the last 16 months of my apprenticeship for doing more to define me than anything else in my life.”

Why Apprenticeships Succeed Where Other Employment Opportunities Fall Short

Individuals with records need more than a paycheck; they need structure, purpose, and a pathway forward. Apprenticeships provide the following benefits:

• Structure and stability. The defined steps within apprenticeship programs create clear goals and milestones, reducing uncertainty and discouragement. Apprenticeships have a required wage progression that specifies the exact wage an individual will earn throughout an apprenticeship, which allows participants to budget and plan effectively. The structured nature of an apprenticeship program can mirror aspects of life during incarceration, providing a familiar sense of routine and accountability that supports individuals as they adjust to life after prison.
• A sense of ownership. Earning portable industry-recognized credentials empowers participants to take control of their future. These credentials can create an opportunity for an individual to leave a negative environment and start anew without worrying about searching for a job.
• A shift in identity. Apprenticeship empowers individuals with records to gain new skills and contribute meaningfully to their communities and industries, not as people defined by their past, but as skilled professionals with a future.

What People With Records Can Do

Skills, resilience, and drive are significant assets for individuals with records. Their life experiences are different from those of people who have not been incarcerated, and they can use that to their benefit. Apprenticeship offers individuals a path to reclaiming their future and redefining their identity by focusing on their potential rather than their past.

Seeing Apprenticeship as a New Beginning

Individuals with records have been systematically steered away from family-sustaining careers and excluded from opportunities to join the mainstream economy for far too long. Regardless of whether the process has been intentional, the result has been the same: a cycle that prioritizes short-term release over long-term readiness, and reentry programs that too often focus on low-wage jobs that don’t require postsecondary education or training, not meaningful career paths.

Many correctional institutions have yet to fully embrace the transformative power of high-quality, industry-recognized training as a core part of rehabilitation. Similarly, some employers may hesitate to hire people with records, not because such people lack the skills but because outdated perceptions obscure a resilient, motivated, and untapped talent pool.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Registered Apprenticeships offer a better path forward. They are not just jobs—they are career pathways that provide structure, mentorship, wage progression, and the promise of upward mobility. Apprenticeships can reconnect individuals to a sense of purpose, community, and long-term success. They create opportunities not just to work but to grow, lead, and contribute meaningfully to industries and local economies—all while earning family-sustaining wages.

Apprenticeships offer more than second chances—they offer futures worth fighting for. Now is the time to intentionally engage those ready to move forward with purpose and those willing to meet them halfway to invest in the systems, programs, and partnerships that make transformation possible.

We should stop asking whether individuals with records are ready, and start asking, “Are we ready?” Readiness isn’t just personal; it’s systemic. Federally supported models like Registered Apprenticeship offer the structure, credentials, and stability needed to turn potential into pathways and ensure that readiness is real on both sides of the equation.

Let’s not just rewrite the record. Let’s redefine what’s possible.

Additional Resources: 

• U.S. Department of Labor Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO) Fact Sheet
• National Reentry Resource Center
• Apprenticeship.gov: Justice-Involved Resources
• Council of State Governments (CSG) Reentry and Employment Toolkit

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