03 Mar Vocational Certificates

The Department works with several applied technology colleges to certify inmates in vocational trades. Those colleges are: Davis Technical College, Uintah Basin Technical College, and Snow College. At the Utah State Prison, male inmates may earn certificates in seven areas: Automotive Technology; Machinist Technician; Maintenance Technician; Welding Technology; Business Technology; and Culinary Arts. Female inmates may earn certificates in two programs (Culinary Arts and Business Technology). At the Central Utah Correctional Facility, certificates are offered in Culinary Arts and Building Trades.

The prison’s telephone surcharge fees — paid by inmate families and friends who accept their collect calls — help support this program. However, offenders often take out student loans in order to enroll in vocational trades. Due to the fact the offender does not have a significant source of income while incarcerated, he or she is given adequate time post-release to repay any debt incurred. After an offender is “off paper” (no longer under the department’s purview in either the prison or on parole status), that individual has three years to repay the student loans, meaning the State and its taxpayers are not shouldering the costs of post-secondary education.