Apprenticeships, often overlooked as a path to education and employment, provide powerful paths to steady, substantial income and meaningful work — and they can be especially impactful for those reintegrating into society after imprisonment.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s ApprenticeshipUSA program and WorkforceGPS recently joint-hosted a webinar on apprenticeship opportunities for people reentering their community's post-incarceration. Among the speakers was John Carroll, who shared his story — from believing his life was over at 20 years old to becoming a skilled tradesman and a beachfront property owner.
Carroll — who refused to let his 25-year prison sentence dictate his identity — attributes the final 16 months of his apprenticeship as an ironworker to be the most defining period in his life.
Growing up, Carroll’s father always worked in various law enforcement roles. But Carroll never looked in that direction, he said, largely ascribing it to the area he grew up in — where poverty, crime and gang violence were pervasive.
“I was seeing what was being offered to me, and I bought into it,” he explained. “And even though I knew better, I didn’t believe that, at that point in time with the tools in my possession, that I could do better.”
Carroll reflects on it as a clear cause-and-effect of his surroundings and decision making. “You play dumb games, you get dumb prizes,” he said. “So, you know, the 24 years, seven days was my dumb prize for my dumb games.”
But during his time in prison, Carroll found himself deeply humbled and dedicated to reinvention and education — studying, reading and eventually teaching fellow inmates.
He recalled tutoring other convicts on how to read stories for their grandchildren during visits. “Seeing them come back and tell me that their grandchild had just started to cry because they shared something that they never had shared before” instilled Carroll with a gratitude and humility that has become a central compass for how he lives his life.
Upon release, John earned a spot as a Registered Apprentice in the Ironworkers Local 5 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC), where he has been working for the last five years.
ApprenticeshipUSA and WorkforceGPS shared that the graduated apprentice on average earns $80,000 per year, with a lifetime earning advantage of $300,000.
Two years ago, Carroll was able to buy a 16-acre farm with a 1,200 square-foot home outlooking a beach.
“I have been able to be not just a homeowner, but a farm owner on a waterfront property... That is amazing,” he reflected.
Carroll asserted that apprenticeships really can be the difference between a minimum wage nine-to-five and a lasting, lucrative career — and that is especially meaningful for people struggling to renter the world. “I was able to take accountability for myself, I was able to find the opportunity through these great networks,” he said.
Finding the opportunity and network was just the beginning, which Carroll has now honed into a deeply invaluable craft. “To claim your trade, your skill, because you're coming with knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and you're able to [show] individuals that you're very talented, and you're able to perform at a high skill set" is a feeling of unparalleled accomplishment for Carroll.
He emphasized the importance of community, having people you want to show up for (including yourself) makes all the difference — believing deeply in the saying, “Your network is your net worth.” Having found that network himself, Carroll wants to help folks without those healthy supportive networks and communities and to empower them the way he was.
“If we just take a minute and embrace the idea of giving the opportunity to individuals who are considered a waste or they have, you know, sought the wrong side, if we realized there is no bad child... Let's be more inclined to give individuals the tools that they need in order to perform the job at its highest,” concluded Carroll. “And that is what I bring to the table, that's what I display in my words and my actions.”
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