At the Lindsey State Jail, in Jacksboro, Texas, some residents have been able to take advantage of an opportunity to receive certifications in the field of logistics. The logistics program course came to be in cooperation with Workforce Solutions North Texas and Weatherford College.

“Well, it basically teaches you everything about a warehouse and how it works from the beginning,” explains resident and student Timothy Buesing. “The raw materials, all the way until it finally gets to the customer’s hands, and all the things it goes through in between. So that when I go work at a warehouse, I’ll know all the workings of how it all operates together.”

 

David Larsen is Lindsey’s logistics course instructor.

“The object of this is to help them get certifications in two different areas of logistics, mostly in the warehouse field,” he says. “And the point of that is, so that when they’re released, it will give them the inside path to go to warehousing in places like Lowes or Home Depot, which does have a warehousing component, and helps them to be able to get work. And Texas Workforce Commission is a part of this and Weatherford College.”

Participants expressed their feelings on being a part of the logistics program.

Franklyn Greenfield: “It gave me a little bit of an advantage or a chance to help myself because of my felonies, now that I’ve given myself a better chance to get a job.”

Timothy Buesing: “I’d like to go try [to work] at a place like Amazon and just make a career out of it, because I have a record, and it’s kind of hard to get a job when you have a record. But with this program, I think I’ll be able to take advantage of that trade.”

Stephen Bryan: “I’ve been on other units, and as far as education, this one’s really good. I’ve also taken the painting vocation, and I completed that about a month ago; that was a long, drawn-out process because of coronavirus, but we got it finished. Mr. Jones was my painting instructor and Mr. Larsen is my current teacher for logistics. And both of them have been great. They have filled the requirements exceedingly.”

Instructor Larsen sums up the program’s purpose.

“And we are here to help these men to be able to get a good career path.”