Senior MTC Corrections Leader Taps Into Job Corps’ Track Record of Success
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Senior MTC Corrections Leader Taps Into Job Corps’ Track Record of Success

MTC’s mission is to change people’s lives. We do it every day in correctional facilities, Job Corps centers, and workforce development sites in Egypt and Morocco. Although these service areas are unique in many aspects, there is one consistency in all we do, and that is our employees’ Believe It Or Not I Care (BIONIC) approach.

Senior Vice President of Corrections Leann Bertsch wanted see firsthand how our Job Corps staff change young people’s lives. So, she, along with vice presidents David Hood and Mark Lee, recently visited the MTC-operated Clearfield Job Corps Center in Utah.

“After attending the Job Corps leadership meeting in November,” Leann says, “I was able to meet the many talented center directors and others working at our Job Corp centers. It became apparent that there is much crossover between supporting the success of students and supporting the success of those incarcerated in our correctional facilities. Many of the challenges are the same. I wanted to visit one of Job Corp centers to learn more about the skills and training the students are receiving and how staff support that learning journey and the transition from the center to a successful career.”

The three met with center leadership to learn more about their operations, partnerships, challenges, and successes. They were shown the advanced automotive program, the welding center, and the logistics training area, along with a resident dorm. Leann shared some of her impressions.

“The Center staff have to be skilled in keeping the students engaged and meeting their needs as the students may get frustrated and leave the program. The way our center staff use positive incentives and reinforcement is something we have started to do on the corrections side, but it is not as ingrained as it is within Job Corps. Our correctional staff can learn a lot from the experiences of our center staff in how they use positive reinforcement to help students succeed. I believe some of the partnerships the centers have with various educational organizations, businesses, and employers is a model that can be replicated in our corrections facilities.”