By Ryan Boetel
Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A mobile classroom will be making stops at New Mexico prisons to teach inmates life skills and other trades.
The New Mexico Corrections Department on Monday announced a “Be Pro, Be Proud” program. A semi-truck trailer has been retrofitted into a mobile workshop where prisoners can get trained in technical careers and skilled trades using more than a dozen hands-on simulators.
Types of skills that will be taught are welding, carpentry, robotics, transportation and other areas.
“By experiencing simulated work environments, it is our hope the inmates will walk away with a heightened sense of curiosity and eagerness about post-incarceration career opportunities,” said NMCD Cabinet Secretary Alisha Tafoya Lucero. “In bringing this workshop to our prison facilities, we are continuing to prove our commitment to reduce recidivism rates by further strengthening our communities.”
The tour is expected to start in July.
“The great thing about Be Pro Be Proud, is that it helps spur an individual’s imagination about what they can become, where they can take their lives, as it provides the pathway to make that change,” said Rob Black, the president and CEO of the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce . “We are excited to partner with the Corrections and Workforce Solutions Departments on this important effort to help returning citizens find a better future for themselves and their families.”
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