Free Online Course Connects Ex-Inmates With The Job Skills They Need - Joseph Erbentraut, The Huffington Post

Imagine this scenario: Instead of a judge sentencing an offender to hundreds of hours of community service while behind bars, they are sentenced to hundreds of hours of educational courses -- and those courses are offered for free. Such is the vision of Mike Feerick, the founder of Alison, a Galway, Ireland-based provider of online coursework. Earlier this year, the company debuted a new set of courses called the Advanced Diploma in Workforce Re-entry Skills which is specifically designed for formerly incarcerated Americans. The goal, Feerick explained to BBC in July, is to boost ex-inmates’ job skills and academic credentials while simultaneously reducing their risk of reoffending. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/online-course-prison-education-recidivism_55e4cf3ae4b0aec9f3544bd5