Twelve inmates at the Richmond County Correctional Institution have completed a forklift program at Augusta Technical College.
The state prisoners now have certificates as forklift operators, according to a news release.
Augusta Tech instructors taught the class over two days, with classroom teaching and evaluation and hands-on training that followed OSHA standards.
The partnership between the city-owned prison and Augusta Tech “aims to help inmates have employment opportunities when they leave the correctional institution,” the release said.
Augusta has housed state prisoners for a fee, around $60 per day, at the facility for nearly 60 years. The inmates are used to supplement the city workforce on ground maintenance, construction and repair, litter pickup and other tasks. Recently the city turned over maintenance of its historic cemeteries to RCCI workers.
The Tobacco Road correctional institution employs approximately 60 people and costs around $4.8 million annually to operate. It currently houses around 230 inmates, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.
As part of Sales Tax 8, Augusta voters approved spending $11 million for construction of a new, 250-bed RCCI.
