UConn Health will fill 5% of entry-level positions with previously incarcerated people in the next three years under the One Million Jobs Campaign by the Connecticut NAACP.
“If you’re a resident of Connecticut and formerly incarcerated who’s had trouble finding, applying or securing a job, I’m here to let you know that #WeGotThatWork,” said Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP, in a public service message.
“We are partnering with great work places such as UConn Health to work toward 10,000-plus positions for formerly incarcerated individuals across the state of Connecticut over the next three to five years,” Esdaile said in a statement to reporters.
Under the collaboration, UConn Health will place people in clerical jobs, building and grounds maintenance, and surveying parking lots, said Dr. Bruce Liang, interim CEO of UConn Health and dean of the UConn medical school.
“Our goal is not just hiring, but also skill set training, [to] help [in] preparing for job interviews and internship opportunities,” Liang said. “So basically, creating a pathway for these formerly incarcerated individuals.” Liang said he expects UConn Health to train a “few hundred” people.
Yale New Haven Hospital is also part of the program, and it has 45 vacant positions listed.
