County Executive Dr. Sam Page, U.S. Dept. of Labor highlight new apprenticeship for corrections officers

County Executive Dr. Sam Page last week welcomed a representative from the U.S. Department of Labor to the St. Louis County Justice Center to highlight a new apprenticeship program for corrections officers.

Page was joined by the first class of new corrections officers eligible for the apprenticeship program as well as Scott Anders, acting director of Justice Services, and Wade Johnson, apprenticeship and training representative with the Department of Labor.

St. Louis County’s Justice Center is the only jail in Missouri to offer this nationally certified apprenticeship program. It provides 2,000 hours of on-the-job training. New corrections officers who complete the six-month probationary period of the apprenticeship training will receive a $500 incentive.

At the Nov. 16 county council meeting, Page said, “We heard the urgent pleas from Justice Center staff about the need to hire more corrections officers. This program, combined with a raise that we hope will soon be passed by the county council, will be important steps in getting the jail fully staffed.”

Once a year of training is completed, new corrections officers are eligible for up to 30 hours of college credit in a job-related major at a community college. Current corrections officers will also be eligible for those college credits.

“I hope this apprenticeship program entices more people to join our staff,” Anders said. “This will allow our department to keep pace with advancing technologies and innovations in training while serving as a recruiting tools for new officers.”

St. Louis County received $50,000 in funding in late September from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development to help support the recruitment of corrections officers. The funding will be used to cover the cost of training of 100 new corrections officers.

Interested applicants can apply for the new apprenticeship program at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/stlouis/jobs/2979221/corrections-officer.