INDIANAPOLIS (WOWO) — Indiana is expanding vocational training and employment opportunities for incarcerated Hoosiers as part of an effort to help more people find work and successfully transition back into their communities after release.
Gov. Mike Braun directed the Indiana Department of Correction last year to strengthen employment pathways for people serving time in state correctional facilities. The initiative focuses on providing job skills, hands-on experience, professional certifications and other tools inmates can use after leaving prison.
More than 3,200 inmates participated in vocational programs in 2025, according to the state. Those participants earned 2,070 certifications during the year in fields including logistics, construction, coding, cosmetology and culinary arts.
Braun said having marketable skills and professional credentials can make a significant difference for people returning to the workforce.
“A person who leaves a correctional facility with real-world job skills — not to mention a license or certification in hand — is far less likely to return to prison,” Braun said. “Employment is central to everything that comes after release. It allows formerly incarcerated Hoosiers to forge a better, lasting path forward.”
Formal vocational programs are part of a broader effort by the Indiana Department of Correction to prepare inmates for employment.
Inmates also have opportunities to gain hands-on experience in areas such as woodworking, manufacturing and agriculture. State officials say those programs allow participants to develop practical skills while exploring potential career paths.
IDOC Commissioner Lloyd Arnold said obtaining job skills before release can help address one of the immediate challenges people face when returning to society.
“Someone who leaves the correctional system without the skills they need to find a job is at an immediate disadvantage,” Arnold said. “We give those serving time in our facilities every opportunity to explore their interests, not just to make meaningful use of their days inside the walls, but to help them build skills they can turn into a career.”
Janssen Hamlett, an inmate at Pendleton Correctional Facility, said vocational training has been an important part of preparing for his eventual release.
Hamlett earned a barber’s license while incarcerated and said the training provided skills that go beyond the barbering profession.
“Vocational programming is one of the few things that is viable upon release — the minute I walk out of this prison,” Hamlett said.
He said barber school also taught him about managing time, running a business and staying organized.
“It’s time management, business management — organizational skills,” Hamlett said. “The things that you learn in barber school apply in life.”
The state says the vocational programs are intended to give incarcerated Hoosiers skills and credentials they can use immediately after release while helping them establish more stable career paths.
The effort comes as Indiana continues to emphasize employment as a key component of successful re-entry, with state officials arguing that access to job training and career opportunities can help people returning from prison build sustainable lives in their communities.
