Warner Robins, Ga. – Central Georgia Technical College (CGTC) and its Office of Re-Entry Services recently began a pilot Maintenance Electrical Plumbing (MEP) program at Wilcox and Whitworth State Prisons; and in just a few short months, it has already seen participants meet standards.
“We really wanted to support Wilcox and Whitworth State Prison in their need for maintaining inmate living areas and employee work spaces,” said, Dr. Brittany Lucas, the executive director of Re-entry Services at CGTC. “This certificate provides both prisons a skilled internal workforce, and gives staff and inmates employable, career-specific skills.”
Students at the facilities have constructed wall frames, navigated circuit breaker panels, circuits, and conduits, and in the next phases will be introduced to plumbing.
Taught by an experienced instructor contracted by the College, MEP is a sixty-hour course presented to both prison staff and inmates. The program began out of an initiative to improve infrastructure at both locations near the end of 2017, and teaches electrical systems, plumbing, and carpentry.
Upon completion, the certificate will be given to the inmates by the Economic Development Division of Central Georgia Technical College, which the Office of Re-Reentry services works with to provide non-credit training. This new program continues the mission of Re-Entry Services to provide employable training in high-demand career fields to Georgia’s incarcerated population.