Employment Program
The RISE Employment Program has seen significant growth in its first full year, achieving remarkable milestones in 2024. As a reentry program, it is designed to give justice‑impacted individuals a solid foundation for jobs after prison and to support the broader employment reentry programs movement.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS
This year, the program successfully implemented its first two cohorts of workforce development training, resulting in 19 successful graduates. Each cohort was held in Lincoln, Nebraska, and included individuals transitioning at the community facility as they prepared to reenter the workforce.
The 14‑week curriculum, titled CORE, is designed to help participants recognize their worth as professionals, earning competitive wages, accessing professional development opportunities, and emerging as future workplace leaders. It focuses on soft‑skill development, with participants exploring essential workplace topics such as workplace boundaries, integrity, communication, and problem‑solving.
The transformation observed in participants from the program’s start to graduation was profound. Graduates reported feeling more prepared, confident, and ready to reenter the workforce.[2]
EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS
The Employment Program partnered with 13 new companies in Omaha and Lincoln that have either hired or are ready to hire RISE participants. To educate and engage employers, RISE hosted Lunch and Learn sessions on topics like Motivational Interviewing. These sessions gave HR professionals and recruiters tools to make their interview processes more inclusive and supportive of second‑chance hiring. Employers were encouraged to ask challenging questions, gain resources, and receive guidance to ensure success in second‑chance hiring practices. RISE seeks meaningful partnerships with small businesses and corporations interested in tapping into this wide, underutilized talent pool.[1]
Employer partners will:
Gain access to highly qualified candidates.
Participate in employer engagement activities, such as speaking to program cohorts.
Build rapport with participants through volunteering opportunities.
The long‑term vision is to establish a comprehensive database of employer partners across various industries to create direct pipelines into career paths for justice‑impacted individuals. RISE is dedicated to breaking barriers, creating opportunities, and fostering an inclusive workforce.[3]
