INDIANA — Every day inside Indiana’s correctional facilities, Gov. Mike Braun’s focus on successful re-entry is taking shape through opportunities for incarcerated Hoosiers to build skills, gain experience, and prepare for employment after release.
Last year, Gov. Braun directed the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) to strengthen employment pathways for incarcerated Hoosiers, with a focus on helping more people leave prison ready to find and keep a job. Robust vocational programming is core to those efforts.
“A person who leaves a correctional facility with real-world job skills — not to mention a license or certification in hand — is far less likely to return to prison,” Gov. Braun said. “Employment is central to everything that comes after release. It allows formerly incarcerated Hoosiers to forge a better, lasting path forward.”
More than 3,200 inmates enrolled in vocational programs in 2025. During the last year alone, incarcerated Hoosiers earned 2,070 certifications in a number of fields, including logistics, construction, coding, cosmetology, culinary arts, and more.
Formal vocational programming is just one part of IDOC’s broader effort to prepare inmates for employment after release. There are also opportunities for inmates to gain hands-on experience in areas such as woodworking, manufacturing, and agriculture while building skills they can put to use in future jobs.
“Someone who leaves the correctional system without the skills they need to find a job is at an immediate disadvantage,” IDOC Commissioner Lloyd Arnold said. “We give those serving time in our facilities every opportunity to explore their interests, not just to make meaningful use of their days inside the walls, but to help them build skills they can turn into a career.”
Janssen Hamlett, who is incarcerated at Pendleton Correctional Facility, considers getting involved in vocational programming one of the most valuable steps a person can take to prepare for life after release.
“Vocational programming is one of the few things that is viable upon release — the minute I walk out of this prison,” he said.
Hamlett earned his barber’s license while serving time and said the experience taught him far more than how to cut hair.
“It’s time management, business management — organizational skills,” he said. “The things that you learn in barber school apply in life.”
