IN THIS POST
Rise Up Industries (RUI) is a San Diego-based nonprofit organization that’s working to reduce gang involvement through gang intervention and reentry support. RUI’s 18-month reentry program is modeled after fellow California employment social enterprise Homeboy Industries, and provides providing paid employment, job training, and wraparound support to participant employees, who are primarily formerly gang-involved individuals recently released from incarceration.
A key component of RUI’s program is the machine shop social enterprise, which trains participants for careers as Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machine operators by providing them with real-world experience to manufacture parts for various purposes, such as advanced aerospace technology and submarine parts. As part of this registered apprenticeship, apprentices receive employment, classroom training, and real-world experience with contract work, which provides them with the skills needed for a well-paying career in this high-demand manufacturing industry.
How Rise Up Grew Strategically with CA RISE
The CA RISE program provided RUI with funding, capacity building, and connections needed to expand the capacity of the Machine Shop Social Enterprise and the CNC manufacturing apprenticeship program while strengthening internal operations and increasing supportive services for employees. RUI used funds to:
Scale Business Capacity
Renovated a 40,400-square-foot facility into a state-of-the-art training center to house the Reentry Program.
Expanded their shop, from a leased 3,200-square-foot machine shop to owning 20,000 square feet in San Diego.
Purchase 8 new CNC machines (bringing the total from 7 to 15), doubling the Machine Shop’s capacity.
Expanded Opportunities for Staff & Employee Training
Double the number of employees with barriers hired (from 12 to 30 full-time employees).
Hired three additional operations staff to support training, operations, and production.
Increased employee wages from $253,810 to $674,862.
Established Strong Relationships with Public-Sector Entities
RUI applied the knowledge gained from CA RISE to establish strong relationships within the public sector, opening up new partnerships and funding opportunities to scale the business.
Secured a $2.2 million Navy contract, creating more career paths for graduates into the Maritime Industrial Base as they help repair submarines.
Secured Registered Apprenticeship approval from the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), positioning the organization to access additional state apprenticeship funding.
88%
reduction in recidivism rate for RUI grads
100%
of RUI participants have secured jobs by graduation
60
manufacturers across the US have hired RUI grads
Why Rise Up’s Success Matters
Reduces recidivism
RUI maintains a 5% recidivism rate among its graduates, compared to the CA average of 42% recidivism within 3 years of release. That’s an 88% reduction!
Increases employment
100% of RUI participants are hired upon graduation.
Strengthens families and communities
By offering both wraparound support and a steady paycheck for participant employees, RUI supports individuals as they work to contribute to their families’ well-being and the overall economy.
Breaks the cycle of gang involvement
RUI’s programs address the root causes of gang involvement, helping to break the cycle of violence and crime that often spans generations.
Supports the regional demand for CNC machine operators
There is a shortage in CNC machine operators in the US, and RUI is providing training to fill this gap. To date, over 60 manufacturers from across the country have hired from RUI.
Currently, we have about 2 or 3 times more people applying to our program than we have capacity to let in... And there's more manufacturing companies that are asking us, 'When are you going to have your next graduate ready for me to hire?'
Meet Ernie, a Rise Up Participant
Ernie was released from prison in 2017 after being incarcerated for nearly three decades, including 18 years in solitary confinement. Beyond the typical challenges of reentry, Ernie lacked many technical skills necessary to function in modern society. He shared, “I didn’t know how to use computers. I didn’t know what a debit card was. I didn’t know what Google was.”
He enrolled in Rise Up Industry’s 18-month reentry program that used a holistic approach to reentry to teach him much more than CNC machining training.
The technical training he received prepared him to thrive at work, but the compassion from staff members helped him stay in the program and address his wraparound needs. Ernie shared, “What Rise Up did was allow us to get help, have mentors, have people that would sit down and talk to us and not give us negative feedback, but give us positive feedback.” Counseling caseworkers helped him secure a social security number — something he hadn’t had for decades — and offered opportunities to work through other challenges in therapy groups.
Ernie successfully graduated from Rise Up Industries with a CNC machining certificate and the soft skills needed to succeed in the workforce. Rise Up Industries had an immediate and substantial impact on Ernie’s economic well-being. He secured a job in the aerospace industry using his CNC machining skills and quickly advanced within the company, earning four raises in less than two years. A few years later, Rise Up Industries invited him back, this time as a production manager. Today, Ernie is fulfilled in the job that lets him help others who are reentering.
His advice for others who are in the midst of their own transformation is simple but profound:
“Invest in yourself. You’re going to learn here, and what you’re going to leave here with is more than just a trade.”
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