Education options during and after prison have never been very extensive, especially despite the best interests of educators. Emerge Career is working to change that, and its success in putting formerly incarcerated people into work is attracting investment from VCs and government programs.
Emerging from Y Combinator’s latest batch, Emerge first debuted in August, and it was then that I covered its initial ambitions and approach. The team previously worked on Amilio, which brought to light years of poor and exploitative video-calling services in prisons, but also highlighted the problem of education.
Security and limited budgets at vocational and community colleges limit the amount of aid they can provide to people in the system, and courses from GEDs to trades are often taken during incarceration through a “postal study” approach or a traditional brick-and-mortar one upon release. . With modern video lectures and regular video call office hours with subject matter experts, changes emerge.
Initially, the topic was obtaining a commercial driver’s license, which has helped many ex-prisoners find work after release in a labor-intensive sector. Now, Emerge plans to offer nursing assistant and welding courses — two other skills shortages mean employers may not have to think about hiring from prisons anytime soon.
Emerge’s Gabe Saruhashi said, “Besides the obvious labor shortage and high compensation, justice is two professions that people in prisons and repatriation centers across the country are in high demand.” “Trucking has been an interesting starting point, but we know that many people cannot stay away from home for long periods of time, whether for personal reasons or re-entry obligations. Finally, we want to provide training programs to individuals from all walks of life.
Co-founder Uzoma Orchingwa says feedback from their first students has been very positive, highlighting the self-motivated training (as it can be accessed in class at your convenience), the speed (the goal is to go from zero to work in about two months) and the hands-on support they receive from Emerge’s career coaches.
Graduates who once earned an average of $13 an hour if they had a steady job are now pulling in an average of $78,000, according to Outlander. We hope the new programs will broaden its appeal and allow the company to support more students and areas.
The company’s platform has drawn local officials, a good move if you want to break into state-funded facilities, and now Emerge has signed a two-year, $845,000 contract (using USAID rescue plan funds) with the Connecticut Department of Labor. They also have multiple letters of interest, possibly pending results from other programs.
This early success also brought investment: a $3.2 million seed round led by Alexis Ohanian 776 from SoftBank Opportunity Fund, Y Combinator, Lenny Rachitsky and Michael Seibel.
The money will be used to hire engineers and launch the new welding and nursing programs, as well as expand to three more states. Saruhashi said his wish is for anyone in the country to make Emerge Careers their first choice for a second chance in the modern workforce.
