When I first entered the workforce, draftsmen were often suspected of having a prison term in their past; this was in part because the prison system trained many convicts in that trade.
The EC&M article details similar programs; prisoners are provided classes, even allowed out during the day to work jobsites.
Most of us had to surmount many hurdles to enter the trade. There was the test, the interview, the search for an employer willing to pay for our classes, the difficulty of paying bills, while being churned through a succession of employers during our apprenticeship. We recall lean winters, where we were refused temporary employment in the meanest jobs, "because as soon as work pick up they'll call you back."
So now we're supposed to compete with Joe Felon ... whose main qualification is that he's proven to be a screw-up .... who need not worry about rent or grocery money? Whose work schedule will be influenced by the prison shuttle - with the result that he will work hours not available to a 'good' kid?
Forgiveness may be divine .... but why don't we give non-felons 'a chance' first?
