Emerge Career’s pre-release job training lands $3.2M seed and new state contracts • ZebethMedia

Education options during and after incarceration have never been particularly extensive, despite the best intentions of educators. Emerge Career is working on changing that and its early success in putting formerly incarcerated folks to work is attracting investment from both VCs and government programs.
It was only August when Emerge first appeared as it came out of Y Combinator’s latest batch, and I covered its initial ambitions and approach then. The team previously worked on Ameelio, which upended years of bad and exploitative video calling services in prisons, but also made the problem of education clear to them.
Security and limited budgets at vocational and community colleges limit the amount of help they can actually offer people in the system, and courses from GEDs to trades often take a very “study by mail” approach during incarceration, or traditional brick and mortar one on release. Emerge changes that with modern video lectures and regular video call office hours with educators who specialize in the subject matter.
At first the subject was strictly getting a commercial driver’s license, and that has helped numerous former inmates to find jobs soon after release in a sector hurting for labor. Now Emerge is also planning to offer nursing assistant and welding courses — two other areas where a shortage of workers means employers may not think twice about hiring someone recently out of prison.
“Besides the clear labor shortage and high compensations, these are two professions that the justice-involved people we met in prisons and reentry centers across the country showed a lot of interest in,” said Emerge’s Gabe Saruhashi. “Trucking has been an exciting starting point, but we know many people cannot be away from home for prolonged periods of time, be it for personal reasons or reentry obligations. Ultimately, we want to offer training programs for individuals from all walks of life.”

Co-founder Uzoma Orchingwa said the feedback from their first students has been very positive, highlighting the self-paced training (since it can be accessed piece by piece whenever is convenient), its speed (the aim is to go from zero to job in about two months), and the hands-on support they get from Emerge’s career coaches.
Emerge reports that graduates from its program, who once averaged $13 an hour if they had a stable job, are pulling in an average of $78K now. It’s hoped the new programs will broaden the appeal and let the company support more students and locations.
The company’s pitch pulled in local officials, a good step if you’re hoping to get into state-funded institutions, and now Emerge has landed a two-year, $845K contract (using American Rescue Plan funds) with the Connecticut Department of Labor. They also have several letters of intent, perhaps waiting on outcomes from the other programs.
This early success has also brought in investment: a $3.2 million seed round led by Alexis Ohanian’s 776, with participation from the Softbank Opportunity Fund, Y Combinator, Lenny Rachitsky, and Michael Seibel.
The money will be used to hire engineers and start up the new welding and nursing programs, as well as expand to three more states. Saruhashi said their ambition is to make Emerge Career the first choice for anyone in the country who has a disadvantaged background to get a second chance in the modern workforce.

             Disclaimer: Any Product You Buy Here, Amazon Pays me A Commission With No Additional Fee.

 

This is a must Have Software For Your Home & Business. This software will help your business and make your job Stress Free.

Business and Office Management  Category.

(Old Version) H&R Block Tax Software Deluxe + State 2023 with Refund Bonus Offer (Amazon Exclusive) (PC/MAC Download)

(4264)

20% Off $49.99 $39.97 (as of November 21, 2024 06:11 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Choose to put your refund on an Amazon gift card and you can get a 2% bonus. One state program download included. State e-file sold separately. Reporting assistance on income from investments, stock options, home sales, and retirement Guidance on max... read more

Acrobat Pro | 1-Month Subscription | PDF Software |Convert, Edit, E-Sign, Protect |Activation Required [PC/Mac Online Code]

(1444)

$29.99 (as of November 21, 2024 06:33 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Create and edit PDFs. Collaborate with ease. E-sign documents and collect signatures. Get everything done in one app, wherever you go. Edit text and images without jumping to another app. E-sign documents or request e-signatures on any device. Recipi... read more

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2025 & Premiere Elements 2025 Student & Teacher Edition | PC/Mac Code | Box with Download Code | Photo & Video Editing | 3-year term license | Activation Required

(17)

$79.99 (as of November 21, 2024 05:39 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Remove photo objects with AI power. Create and control photo depth with AI. Change the color of any object in your photo. Seamlessly combine multiple pics. Create dynamic video titles with text styling controls. Access free Adobe Stock video title te... read more

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2025 | Photo Editing | 3-Year Term License | PC/MAC | Box with Download Code | Activation Required

(17)

$99.99 (as of November 21, 2024 05:37 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Remove objects with AI power. Create and control depth with AI. Change the color of any object. Seamlessly combine multiple pictures. Create with modern textures and graphics. Be creative with the web and mobile beta apps. Get a 3-year term license f... read more

AVG Ultimate 2024 | Antivirus+Cleaner+VPN | 5 Devices, 2 Years [PC/Mac/Mobile Download]

(1124)

14% Off $34.99 $29.99 (as of November 21, 2024 06:11 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

AVG ULTIMATE: Your all-in-one antivirus, VPN, and tuneup combo. OUR BEST SECURITY: Enjoy our advanced, real-time security for your computers, tablets, and phones. OUR BEST PRIVACY: Secure your privacy with powerful encryption so no one can see what y... read more

Bitdefender Total Security - 5 Devices | 1 year Subscription | PC/Mac | Activation Code by email

(2361)

50% Off $89.99 $44.99 (as of November 21, 2024 06:43 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

SPEED-OPTIMIZED, CROSS-PLATFORM PROTECTION: World-class antivirus security and cyber protection for Windows, Mac OS, iOS, and Android. Organize and keep your digital life safe from hackers. ADVANCED THREAT DEFENSE: Your software is always up-to-date ... read more

Bitdefender Total Security 2024 – Complete Antivirus and Internet Security Suite – 5 Devices | 2 year Subscription | PC/Mac | Activation Code by Mail

(3511)

$74.99 (as of November 21, 2024 05:37 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

SPEED-OPTIMIZED, CROSS-PLATFORM PROTECTION: World-class antivirus security and cyber protection for Windows (Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11), Mac OS (macOS X Yosemite 10.10 or later), iOS (11.2 or later), and Android (5.0 or later... read more

Clifford The Big Red Dog Thinking Adventures CD-ROM Parent's Guide Ages 4-6

(9)

-85% Off $2.43 $4.50 (as of November 21, 2024 05:37 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO - Version 1 - Perpetual License - for Microsoft Windows and MacOS

(3061)

$23.99 (as of November 21, 2024 06:18 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Create original sketches using your mouse or draw naturally with a pen tablet. Powerful coloring tools make CLIP STUDIO PAINT your all-in-one illustration, painting, manga and comic creation solution. Use an assortment of powerful art tools for illus... read more

CodaKid Roblox Coding, Award-Winning, Coding for Kids, Ages 9+ with Online Mentoring Assistance, Learn Computer Programming and Code Fun Games with Lua and Video Game Programming Software (PC & Mac)

(332)

$59.00 (as of November 21, 2024 05:32 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

CodaKid’s Roblox Lua coding educational software provides 100+ hours of interactive student projects designed to engage and educate kids, teaching them to become creators in their own right. Students learn real Lua coding and video game design using ... read more