IEC Empowers Opportunities by Driving Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Program

BY IEC STAFF

Start with a good idea. Begin to gather the pieces needed and put them in motion. Then get out of the way when things start to gel! 

IEC Florida West Coast Executive Director Natasha Sherwood saw this process in action when she dreamed about working within the state juvenile detention centers to train electricians. Growing out of the need to fill the skilled labor pipeline and a heart for second chances, this idea took off. 

“I’m one of those people that believe that God puts the right people in the right place at the right time,” Natasha says. “We were already working with the Florida Department of Corrections to identify potential career paths as people exited the system. I had often felt ‘if only we could get this program to youth….’ It was amazing to me how I kept finding people to help make this happen.” 

Today, the first student in this program has been released from detention, successfully interviewed for a job, and is proudly continuing his training in the IEC Apprenticeship Program. 

 

From Idea to Reality 

Initial Zoom meeting, March 2024.

Natasha remains somewhat in awe that opportunities kept opening up and people appeared to help make this dream a reality. The first was Rob Aguis. Natasha and Rob first crossed paths when he was campus director at one of the technical colleges where the chapter does its apprenticeship training. He retired from there but they continued to cross paths through their activity in the Florida Association of Career Technical Education. One such time was in July of 2023. 

“We were catching up by phone one day and I asked Rob what he was up to these days,” Natasha recalls. “He said he was getting ready to move over to a position with the Department of Juvenile Justice. I told him that’s amazing!”  

Rob was serving as Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) director of postsecondary and workforce education. Through her role as president of the Florida Apprenticeship Association, Natasha had been working with the Florida Department of Corrections attempting to interest adults leaving jail and entering their supervision phase to discover what they want to do and help them find work. 

“We use a platform called Jobtimize, which essentially helps people figure out types of work where they’d be a good fit,” says Natasha. “I told Rob what I’d really love to do is put that program into the DJJ to help youth.” 

Natasha says the two of them excitedly discussed how such a program might look and what they could do. Rob asked Natasha to put together a proposal for him. She did so, and for months Rob worked with the appropriate teams at DJJ, including DJJ Deputy Secretary Adrienne Campbell, who challenged them with additional questions, suggestions, and requests. Natasha collaborated with many others, especially the Florida Trade Academy who had expertise in providing the IEC electrical pre-apprenticeship program, to see how best to deliver training, where to conduct classes, who would instruct, how would they evaluate, and more. 

Then on Friday, March 22, 2024, Natasha got a call from Rob. 

“He said to me, ‘OK, I’ve got the go ahead. Can we start on Monday?’” Natasha says. “I’m like…. which Monday? Monday, 72 hours from now? He said yes, 72 hours from now. I didn’t want to say no and, fortunately, we had been working hard exploring the idea and involving many skilled parties who could help execute.” 

Immediately, Natasha connected with her contacts at the Florida Trade Academy. They said yes to Monday. She called former IEC instructor Sarah High who had been involved in planning discussions on this new program possibility. She said yes to Monday. Perhaps the most important yes in the process was the one young man within the Department of Juvenile Justice who wanted to receive electrical training. 

“We made it happen for virtual instruction three days a week for three hours,” Natasha says. “That first class included the young man, Sarah, Rob, Brandy Gonzalez and Lynette Barcewicz from the Florida Trade Academy, Matthew W. Ball for reentry counseling, and me. That’s the best instructor to student ratio you’ll ever find!” 

 

The Young Man 

The inaugural student turned 20 four months into the program. But, according to his instructor Sarah High, he ‘grew’ in so many ways besides age in the short time they’ve been in class together. Mostly, he grew to believe in himself, she says. 

“Working with this young man is actually one of the highlights of my career,” Sarah says. “It really is.” 

And Sarah’s career is packed with experience and accomplishment. She is a master electrician and earned an MBA from the University of Maryland. Her career began at the National Security Agency in Maryland, was recruited to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and then moved to the University of Maryland College Park. Sarah first connected with IEC as an instructor for IEC Chesapeake. 

“One of the things that I always admired about the electrical industry is that electricity today is the same as electricity a hundred years ago,” she says. “And, if you could teach guys to do it, you could definitely teach me. I’ve always had that passion of changing the narratives and watching the faces and expressions of students when they come into class and see their teacher is an African-American woman.” 

It was while working with IEC Chesapeake that Sarah first had the opportunity to participate in a juvenile justice program where as part of their reentry, youth had to have an academic plan and pre-apprenticeship was part of it. 

Working together to success.

“Having knowledge of some of the basic skills, knowing hand and power tools, and understanding OSHA 10, confined space, and safety changed their lives,” she recalls. “They were receiving an education and they were learning life skills. If you have skills, you can go on a construction site, you can follow directions, you can be on time, and you can meet the expectations of the supervisor on the fourth floor who asked you to go down to the truck and bring back a crescent wrench.” 

When Sarah moved to Florida upon her ‘first’ retirement, she connected with Natasha and began to teach in the IEC program. When she learned they were attempting to pull together a program with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice similar to what she experienced in Maryland, she shared her knowledge with Natasha. When it came to fruition, Sarah was ready. 

“Sometimes we as educators see something in the students that they don’t see in themselves,” Sarah says. “When they begin to see it, oh my, the feeling is wonderful. The engagement comes. The body language changes. They are starving for information; they want more. I have a red, white, and blue card so I’m old enough for Medicare but I just continue to work because the Lord empowers me to pour into the lives of individuals that they can have lifelong skills, develop, make themselves better, and always have a job if they get up and go to work.” 

Sarah is grateful for being able to work with this young man — first while he was incarcerated and now that he’s out of the facility and pursuing his career. She taught the electrical side of things, and supported the efforts of the career coach. 

“We started with core learnings and moved into an electrical specialty,” Sarah explains. “When it came time to evaluate what he had learned and the young man said ‘Ms. Sarah, I ready to take my final test,’ the facility allowed me as the instructor, the Florida Trade Academy partners, and the DJJ representatives to be on hand and witness as the young man used the hand tools, used the power tools. We actually built a project — a horse — in the facility and it held me so it was built well. The pride and joy of being a part of that is amazing. The thought-provoking questions he now asks are amazing. He realizes his potential.” 

 

From ‘Small’ Beginnings… 

When Natasha and Sarah talk about this inaugural program, the only thing ‘small’ about it is the class size of one student. Every possible advantage from numerous established agencies was tapped, and hours and hours of sweat equity were poured into its launch. 

The results, however, are large. 

The young man has been released and is pursuing his electrical career. While in custody and learning in the inaugural program, he tested and received his NCCER CORE certification and began Level 1 Electricity coursework. Due to this inaugural program’s success, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice opted to continue the program working through the Florida Trade Academy and had about 10 youth signed up for services beginning January 2025. 

Also, in December 2024, the DJJ gave the green light to develop full apprenticeship programs across all its 49 sites not only in electrical, but also in craft labor, solar, full stack (web development), and manufacturing. Trust had been earned, value had been seen, and progress continues. 

“When we jumped into this, we didn’t even know what the finished program would be,” says Natasha. “The look and feel have changed dramatically from what we first thought, but the outcome remains the same. We found numerous resources and people willing to pour into some kids the idea that they might have a better opportunity when they exit. That’s exactly what we wanted!” 


 

Three Steps to Success 

  • Use Jobtimize to assess job fields where candidate would be a ‘good fit’ 
  • Provide proven education and training for electrical with the IEC curriculum 
  • Offer Vametric VALID-8 record of accomplishments, including video showing student performing skills learned 

“Folks who have been incarcerated have a lot stacked against them,” says Natasha. “If I’m trying to place people with one of my contractors, I want to be able to say they’re going to be good electricians. Jobtimize tells me they have the innate DNA to be good electricians. Then, we give them this amazing, proven education through IEC. VALID-8 takes it a step further by digitally documenting what they’ve been able to learn so my contractors can see their skills.”