Food Protection Manager 3 Great Ways to Learn Enroll Today
.png)
Workforce Training Program
Foundations is a sponsor-funded workforce training program preparing criminal-justice-impacted individuals for long-term careers in food service and hospitality — specifically designed for individuals returning from multi-year incarceration in state Departments of Corrections or the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
This program is not designed for transitional or short-term work. It is built for individuals who want to reenter the workforce with intent, develop a career path, and establish long-term stability.
The core problem Foundations addresses is structural, not motivational.
Individuals leaving prison often lack certifications, tools, and access to legitimate training — even when they are ready to work. Without intervention, the system absorbs the cost later.
Foundations combines employer-recognized certifications, structured training, technology access, and accountability to aide in removing barriers and support workforce readiness.
The program does not promise employment or behavior change. It delivers preparation, structure, and repeatable opportunity within defined limits.
Foundations delivers preparation, structure, and repeatable opportunity. It does not promise employment or behavior change.
Unemployment after incarceration is not a social issue — it’s a measurable risk.
National workforce data show that formerly incarcerated individuals experience unemployment rates of approximately 27%, nearly five times higher than the general population, even several years after release.
Research also shows a strong correlation between employment and reduced reincarceration. For example, a state-level study found that unemployed individuals had a recidivism rate exceeding 40%, compared to approximately 26% among those who were employed.
These figures do not suggest that employment alone solves recidivism. They demonstrate something more basic: lack of employment is a known failure point.
Foundations operates upstream of that risk by addressing what it can responsibly control: workforce readiness.
Foundations defines success in terms of deliverables and outcomes within the program’s control.
Foundations does not measure or report individual employment placement or recidivism outcomes. Those results depend on factors outside the program’s control.
The program’s responsibility is to deliver preparation, structure, and verifiable qualifications — consistently and at scale.
Program performance is tracked and reported using these defined measures to provide sponsors with clear, auditable indicators of impact.
The program is intentionally scoped to address one controllable variable — workforce readiness.
Foundations participants complete a defined set of employer-recognized certifications designed to establish a documented baseline of workforce readiness for food service and hospitality roles.
By covering commonly required safety, compliance, and conduct standards, the program removes barriers that often prevent qualified individuals from being considered during hiring — particularly for applicants returning from incarceration.
Completion provides employers with a clear, verifiable readiness signal, reducing uncertainty during screening and creating more equitable access to competitive roles.
Foundations is designed to remove common access barriers that prevent capable individuals from completing workforce training after incarceration — without lowering expectations or standards.
These barriers often include scheduling conflicts, transportation limitations, technology access gaps, and inconsistent access to structured instruction. When left unaddressed, they result in attrition rather than a lack of ability or motivation.
The program’s operating model is intentionally built to neutralize these barriers while maintaining accountability, consistency, and defined completion expectations.
Participants are supported — not supervised. The structure enables independence and follow-through, rather than dependency.
For individuals returning from incarceration, the barrier to employment is rarely motivation. It is access.
Required certifications cost money. Reliable technology is not guaranteed. Digital literacy tools, secure accounts, and consistent access to learning platforms are often assumed — but not available. When these barriers exist, otherwise capable individuals are screened out before readiness can be demonstrated.
Foundations is designed to remove these barriers directly. Sponsorship funding ensures participants can complete required certifications, access training technology, and maintain continuity throughout the program — allowing readiness to be earned, documented, and presented without preventable obstacles.
This does not guarantee employment. It does ensure that participants are not disqualified by lack of access before they are meaningfully considered.
Foundations is delivered by Certivance, a for-profit workforce training provider.
Sponsorships may be structured as workforce development, community impact, or partnership expenditures, depending on sponsor policy.
Tax treatment varies by organization; sponsors should consult their own legal or tax advisors. Certivance does not provide tax advice.
.png){kind=small}