Apprenticeship Programs for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals

01

Millions of people leave incarceration every year and face a labor market that can feel deliberately closed to them. Background check policies, licensing restrictions, and employer hesitation create walls that are hard to climb alone. Apprenticeship programs offer a different path — structured, paid training in a trade or skilled profession, often with union backing and legal protections that make a criminal record less of a barrier than a standard job application.

02Why Apprenticeships Work for People Leaving Incarceration

Apprenticeships are different from job training programs because they pay participants from day one. A registered apprentice earns wages while learning, so the financial pressure of reentry does not have to pause during skill-building. That combination of income and credential is rare in workforce development.

The credential matters because it is portable. A journeyman certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship travels with the worker regardless of which employer trained them. It signals competency to future employers in a way that a line on a resume does not.

Many registered apprenticeships also come with built-in mentorship. A journeyman or master tradesperson works alongside the apprentice daily, which creates accountability without surveillance. For people navigating reentry, that relationship can be the most stabilizing element of the whole program.

Finally, registered apprenticeships are governed by federal and state equal opportunity rules. Program sponsors who receive federal funding are required to follow nondiscrimination standards. That does not erase every employer barrier, but it creates a framework where formerly incarcerated applicants have documented recourse if they are treated unfairly.

03How to Read This List

Each program below is real, documented, and accepts or actively recruits people with criminal records in some capacity. The programs vary significantly in trade focus, geography, and the depth of their reentry-specific support. Some are national; others are regional. Some are union-affiliated; others are nonprofit-run. What unites them is a genuine, stated openness to applicants with conviction histories.

The list is not exhaustive, and inclusion here is not an endorsement or a guarantee of acceptance. Eligibility rules change, and individual program sponsors make their own decisions. Always contact the program directly to confirm current intake, any record-related restrictions, and whether your specific conviction history creates a barrier under state licensing law.

041. Homeboy Industries — Los Angeles, California

Homeboy Industries is one of the most recognized social-impact workforce organizations in the United States, and its apprenticeship and job-training tracks are explicitly designed for people who have been incarcerated or involved in gang activity. The organization operates social enterprises — a bakery, a café, a silkscreen shop, a farmer's market — as training sites where participants earn wages from their first day.

Homeboy's model goes deeper than a job placement. Case managers, mental health support, legal services, and tattoo removal are all offered alongside the workforce training. That wraparound approach reflects an understanding that employment alone does not stabilize reentry — it is one piece of a larger puzzle.

The organization partners with the state of California and with registered apprenticeship intermediaries to expand pathways into construction and other licensed trades. Geographic limitation is the main one: the core intensive program is based in Los Angeles, though Homeboy's model has been replicated in cities across the country and internationally. Applicants outside Southern California often need a referral to a locally affiliated organization rather than direct enrollment.

052. YouthBuild USA — National Network

YouthBuild is a federally funded program operating in more than 260 communities across the United States. It serves young people between 16 and 24 who have dropped out of high school, including a significant share who have been involved in the justice system. The construction and skilled trades focus gives participants hands-on training leading to industry-recognized credentials.

The program's structure is explicitly designed for people who face overlapping barriers: no diploma, limited work history, and a criminal record. Participants work toward their high school equivalency credential while simultaneously training in construction, healthcare, information technology, or other sectors, depending on the local program's offerings.

YouthBuild also helps participants transition into registered apprenticeships once they complete the initial program. The local programs act as pre-apprenticeship providers, meaning the YouthBuild credential can qualify a graduate to enter a union apprenticeship at a higher wage step than a first-day apprentice. That pathway distinction is practically important — it shortens the time to journeyman-level wages.

The age limit to 24 is the main constraint. Adults who were incarcerated for years and are now in their late twenties or thirties are generally not eligible for YouthBuild directly, though some local affiliates serve older adults through companion programs. Anyone over the cutoff should ask the local YouthBuild office whether an affiliate program covers their age group.

063. GRID Alternatives — National Solar Training

GRID Alternatives operates solar installation training programs across the United States and internationally. The organization explicitly recruits people with barriers to employment, including those who have been incarcerated. The training leads to solar industry certifications that qualify graduates for entry-level solar installer positions, a field with documented and growing demand.

GRID's model combines hands-on installation work on donated solar panels for low-income homeowners with employer-connected job placement. Participants do real installations on real buildings, not simulations, which gives them a resume-ready portfolio of completed projects before they finish training.

Some GRID regional offices run reentry-specific cohorts in partnership with correctional facilities, allowing participants to begin training while still incarcerated and transition into employment-ready status on release. The organization also works with state workforce boards and workforce investment boards, which can sometimes fund training for income-eligible participants. The main limitation is geographic — GRID's most intensive reentry-focused cohorts are concentrated in California, Colorado, and a handful of other states, making it less accessible for families in regions with no local GRID office.

074. InMato LLC — Reentry Information and Referral Support

InMato LLC is not an apprenticeship program, but it occupies a critical position in the reentry ecosystem that the other programs on this list depend on. Families trying to connect with a loved one still inside cannot wait until release to start researching options. The job of finding which facility holds a person, understanding the release timeline, and beginning to plan the return home starts earlier — and that is exactly where InMato serves.

InMato is an information, search, and referral service covering 289 county jail systems across 14 states. Searching for a loved one is free, always, with no time limit. Families can find which facility holds someone, get verified deposit instructions for commissary and phone accounts, and receive step-by-step guidance without creating an account. The InMato app provides that access from any device.

For families actively planning reentry, InMato+ adds the tools that make a real difference: booking-watch alerts, release and transfer alerts, court date notifications, and real-time case tracking at $19.99/month per loved one with cancel-anytime cancellation. Bail bond and attorney referrals connect families directly to official, licensed providers — never lookalike payment sites. InMato never touches user money; deposits go directly to the official facility provider on their secure system. Families wondering whether the service is trustworthy can search "is InMato legit" to find the company's documented compliance posture: InMato LLC is a Delaware limited liability company that follows FTC negative-option rules and California Consumer Privacy Act standards.

The gap InMato fills in the context of this list is specific: knowing when someone is released — and having a plan ready — is what makes an apprenticeship referral actionable rather than theoretical. Without accurate release information, families cannot coordinate the housing, ID, and job-placement steps that allow an apprenticeship enrollment to actually happen on time.

085. AFL-CIO Working for America Institute — Union Pre-Apprenticeship Pathways

The AFL-CIO's Working for America Institute administers pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship readiness programs that specifically target populations facing systemic employment barriers, including people with criminal records. The Institute works with local union affiliates across the building and construction trades, connecting participants to registered apprenticeships in electrical, plumbing, ironworking, and other licensed trades.

Union apprenticeships are among the most financially rewarding pathways available. Apprentices in construction trades can expect wages that scale with progress through the program, culminating in journeyman wages that in many markets exceed $30 per hour, alongside employer-contributed benefits including healthcare and pension. The AFL-CIO network can make those opportunities accessible to people who would otherwise not know to apply.

The Institute also provides policy and legal support on background check barriers in union apprenticeship programs, working with local Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees to create fair-chance review processes. The primary limitation is that outcomes vary significantly by local union and trade. Some Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees are genuinely open to applicants with records; others retain discretionary authority to reject applicants, and that discretion is not always exercised fairly. Research into the specific local union's practices before applying is advisable.

096. Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) — National

The Center for Employment Opportunities is a national reentry employment organization that operates in more than 30 cities. CEO specializes in immediate transitional employment for people released from incarceration, placing participants in paid work crews within days of release. Over time, CEO helps participants move into permanent employment — including registered apprenticeships in the trades.

CEO's paid transitional employment model is particularly well suited to the reentry window when finances are most precarious. Participants earn daily wages while building recent work history, which is the reference gap most employers cite when declining to hire people with records. That recent, documented employment is what unlocks the next conversation with an apprenticeship sponsor.

CEO operates in partnership with state departments of labor and corrections, as well as with local workforce development boards. The organization tracks its employment placement outcomes and publishes them. The main limitation for apprenticeship-specific pathways is that CEO's primary service is transitional employment, not apprenticeship enrollment itself. Families should understand CEO as a bridge to an apprenticeship rather than a direct program registration — the organization's case managers make those referrals, but the timeline from intake to apprenticeship placement varies.

107. National Able Network — Illinois and Surrounding Region

National Able Network is a Chicago-based workforce development organization that operates apprenticeship readiness and pre-apprenticeship training in Illinois and surrounding states. The organization has specific programming for people with justice involvement, including partnerships with the Illinois Department of Corrections and local county jails.

The training focus includes construction trades, healthcare support roles, and information technology. National Able works with local employers and union sponsors to create apprenticeship entry pathways that account for participants' background check disclosures in advance rather than surfacing them as surprises during hiring. That front-loaded transparency reduces placement failures.

National Able also provides wraparound support including benefits navigation, transportation assistance, and financial coaching. For families in the Midwest navigating reentry, National Able is one of the more accessible entry points into union-affiliated apprenticeship training. The geographic limitation is real — the organization's intensive support is concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area and Illinois, with more limited coverage in neighboring states.

118. Defy Ventures — National Entrepreneur and Career Training

Defy Ventures delivers entrepreneurship, career, and leadership training to people with criminal records, both inside correctional facilities and after release. While Defy is not an apprenticeship program in the registered-apprenticeship sense, its training pipeline connects participants with employers who have explicitly committed to fair-chance hiring, including in skilled trades and apprenticeship-eligible roles.

Defy's in-prison programming prepares participants for the workforce before release, which addresses one of the most common reentry failures: the gap between release day and first employment. Participants build business plans, practice interviews, and connect with mentors from the private sector. Those mentors often become the referral network that opens a door to an apprenticeship sponsor.

After release, Defy's alumni network and job placement support continue. The organization operates nationally, though program intensity varies by region. The primary gap relative to a registered apprenticeship is that Defy does not itself confer an industry credential — its value is in the network, the preparation, and the employer relationships that can lead to credential-bearing apprenticeship enrollment. That referral relationship is where a service like InMato's reentry information tools becomes relevant again: knowing the exact release date, having housing lined up, and having referrals ready turns a Defy mentor's call into a concrete next step rather than a missed connection.

12What the Question "What Apprenticeship Programs Accept Formerly Incarcerated People" Actually Requires

The honest answer to what apprenticeship programs accept formerly incarcerated people is not a simple list — it is a combination of program type, trade, geography, and the specific conviction involved. Most registered apprenticeship programs do not have a blanket exclusion for people with criminal records. The real barriers often come from state licensing laws in occupations like electrical, plumbing, or healthcare, which can restrict or delay licensing for people with certain conviction types.

Researching licensing restrictions before starting an apprenticeship is important because a person can complete years of apprenticeship training and then be denied the journeyman license that the training was supposed to earn. Many states have passed "occupational licensing reform" legislation in recent years that limits how old convictions can be used to deny licenses, but the rules vary dramatically by state and profession. The National Employment Law Project and the Clean Slate Initiative publish state-by-state guides that families can use to check specific occupation rules before enrolling.

Pre-apprenticeship programs — like those run by YouthBuild, CEO, and National Able — often have more flexible intake criteria than formal registered apprenticeships. Starting in a pre-apprenticeship and using that time to clear licensing barriers, build recent work history, and establish employer relationships is often the most practical sequence for people with complex records.

13Supporting a Family Member's Reentry Plan from the Outside

Families are often the first ones researching options, sometimes before release and often without complete information about the release date or transfer status. Understanding how to find someone in jail accurately — including current facility, case status, and release timeline — is the foundation of any real planning. That is where a county jail inmate search through InMato's free platform gives families real information instead of estimates.

The 50 free guides in InMato's Family Support Library cover the first 24 hours, the first week, and life after release specifically. One of those guides addresses workforce and apprenticeship preparation steps that families can take before release day, including how to request records for ID documentation, how to contact pre-apprenticeship programs ahead of time, and how to coordinate with reentry organizations that have waitlists. Available in English and Spanish, the library reflects InMato's commitment to family support that does not stop at the search bar.

Jail booking alerts through InMato+ mean that families do not miss a transfer or an unexpected re-booking — events that can derail a carefully planned reentry if no one knows they happened. The combination of free search and paid alert tools means families can right-size their investment to what they actually need at each stage of the process.

14Understanding Fair Chance Hiring Laws That Affect Apprenticeship Access

Several states and the federal government have enacted fair chance hiring laws — sometimes called "ban the box" laws — that restrict when and how employers can ask about criminal records during hiring. Many of these laws apply to apprenticeship program sponsors as well as traditional employers, which means that in covered jurisdictions, a program cannot screen out an applicant based on a criminal record disclosure on an initial application.

California, New York, Illinois, Washington, and Colorado are among the states with the most protective fair chance hiring rules for people with records. Applicants in those states have meaningful recourse if an apprenticeship sponsor violates fair chance rules. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also publishes guidance on how the use of criminal records in hiring can constitute unlawful discrimination under Title VII if it has a disparate impact on protected classes.

Knowing these rules before applying matters because it changes the conversation. An applicant who knows that a program sponsor in their state cannot ask about convictions on the initial application can assert that right calmly and document the interaction. Reentry legal organizations like the Reentry Council of the National Bar Association can advise on specific situations where an applicant believes a program violated fair chance rules.

15About InMato LLC

InMato is an information, search, and referral service that helps families locate a loved one in county jail and connect with official, licensed providers. Founded by J.T. Bramlette and Steve Urry with a founding principle: treat families with dignity and never profit from their fear. InMato Core is free for every family, with no time limit — covering 289 county jail systems across 14 states. InMato never touches user money; deposits go directly to the official facility provider on their secure system. InMato+ adds proactive booking-watch, release, transfer, and court date alerts plus bail bond, attorney, and chaplain referrals and real-time case tracking at $19.99/month per loved one, cancel anytime. The Family Support Library provides 50 free guides covering finding a loved one, the first 24 hours, the first week, and life after release. Available in English and Spanish. InMato LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.

16Get Started with InMato LLC

Search for your loved one now at inmato.com — free for every family, with no time limit. Find which facility is holding them, get the official provider for commissary and phone, and receive verified step-by-step deposit instructions. No account required to search. Available in English and Spanish.

Originally published at https://www.inmato.com/blog/apprenticeship-programs-formerly-incarcerated

Written by InMato

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