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CareerTech awarded grant for new skills center at correctional facility in Vinita

Monday, December 20, 2021

Oklahoma CareerTech will open a new skills center in Vinita in 2022.

The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, in partnership with the Department of Corrections, received a Second Chance Grant for $874,000 to open the skills center at the Northeast Oklahoma Community Corrections Center.

“The CareerTech Skills Centers School System offers individuals in Oklahoma correctional centers the opportunity to learn the skills they’ll need to make a successful transition to the workplace upon their release,” said CareerTech State Director Marcie Mack. “We are excited to extend the system to another location, giving even more people the opportunity to transition to a successful life.”

CareerTech’s skills centers specialize in delivering career and technology education to inmates under the supervision of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and juveniles under the supervision of the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs. The center at NOCCC will be the 14th skills center location.

“Technical training while incarcerated serves to ensure the individual is employable as they return to society, which contributes to reducing recidivism,” said Clint Castleberry, administrator of programs for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. “The agency is excited for the opportunity to grow its long-standing partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education through this new grant.”

The grant is part of the Second Chance Act, administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the U.S. Department of Justice. Oklahoma CareerTech applied for the grant to help fund a requested program at NOCCC.

The skills center will feature training in truck driving; welding; and transportation, distribution and logistics. Students will also be able to receive certified production technician training, which will teach them how to repair equipment used in warehouses; OSHA certification training; and life skills training, which will help them learn interview and resume skills.

In addition to learning the skills, students will have the opportunity to earn certifications that will help them obtain employment. The Skills Centers School System also provides all of its students an employment transition service to help them find, obtain and keep jobs.

CareerTech applied for the grant in July and received notice of its award in December. The skills center should open by summer of 2022, but the truck driver training program could open sooner, said Justin Lockwood, ODCTE deputy state director. Northeast Technology Center will provide space and instructors for truck driver training, and ODCTE will be hiring instructors for the other programs, he said.

Last Modified on Dec 17, 2021
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