Charles Wilson was newly unemployed and filling out his weekly information on his job search at the career center on Beach Boulevard when he was told about a Recruitment Wednesday hiring fair taking place there later in the week – and made the decision to attend and speak directly to the employer representatives there.
Wilson had a lot of experience in logistics: 20 years in the US Navy followed by 18 years working at UPS. Wilson felt he should look for a job in logistics when a hiring representative with the state prison system asked if he would ever consider working as a parole officer.
“At first, I said I wasn’t really interested in that, but as I spoke to him further and he explained the process and said if all went well he could have me hired in 10 days,” Wilson said. “So, since I didn’t have anything to do and needed to work, I said I’d give it a try. I figured if I didn’t like it, I could always look for another job.”
Wilson said he, like everyone else, had heard the “scary stuff” about working in prisons with inmates but, having been in the military, wasn’t too concerned…and also wanted to experience the situation and find out what it was really like to work in that environment.
Currently, Wilson is serving as a contingent correctional officer. He explained that the next step is taking the Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test (CJBAT) and, upon passage, becoming a Corrections Officer in Training (COT), attending 13 weeks of school followed by a state exam – then becoming a full-fledged corrections officer for the State of Florida.
“I feel I’m getting a chance to change lives,” Wilson said.
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