Washington Business Spring 2019 | Washington Business | Page 46
business backgrounder | education & workforce
“When people are given a second
chance, it makes a difference.”
When asked why employers should take a chance on former
inmates, he said they are eager to work. “We’re hungry.”
There’s also a tax credit for employers who hire formerly
incarcerated people. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit can
— Pat Seibert-Love, policy associate, SBCTC
help employers reduce their federal business taxes from
between $2,400 to $9,600 per eligible employee, according to
the state Employment Security Department.
Seibert-Love urged employers to not judge these job applicants by their offense. Some people make worse
decisions, and some make better ones.
“Most of them just want to do their time and get back on with their lives,” Seibert-Love said.
Harestad highlighted the inmates who take HVAC, or building maintenance or other vocational
education courses.
“They’re getting out of there with tools, and they’re hungry to never go back,” he said.
Harestad has a lot going for him today: Marriage, fatherhood, home ownership, sobriety. And an
employer willing to take a risk.
“It has completely transformed my life,” Harestad said of his job at Jet Chevrolet. “Every single thing about
this place was an answered prayer.”
Siebert-Love and the corrections education team have more stories like this, such as a construction trades
program that aims to create career pathways for people leaving prison.
One group recently built two tiny houses for the homeless as their final project.
“When people are given a second chance, it makes a difference,” Seibert-Love said.
For more information or to get involved in Washington’s workforce conversation, contact Amy Anderson at
[email protected] or 360.943.1600.
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