FALLS CHURCH, VA, UNITED STATES, October 28, 2024 – ViaPath Technologies, a global technology leader that facilitates successful reintegration for incarcerated individuals, announced today an expansion to its partnership with Promising People, LLC to bring the educational technology company’s patent-pending Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, training, and communication system to the correctional facilities ViaPath currently serves. VR has proven to increase retention rates while decreasing the time necessary to teach skills.
“At ViaPath, we are committed to bringing the very best and very latest technology to the populations we serve to help them learn and make their chances of success post-incarceration the greatest,” said Tony Lowden, Chief Impact Officer at ViaPath. “We know that VR headsets make training easier to consume and increase knowledge retention. We want our clients to benefit from the best method of delivery possible.”
The options for VR training with this program include 21 different career and technical education courses of study—ranging from construction trades to coding and healthcare—all of which lead to high-demand jobs that pay well and provide stability. All Career & Technical Education (CTE) courses lead to nationally recognized certifications with the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) and the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER).
“Our students learn more, learn more quickly, and retain more of what they learn,” said Dr. John L. Evans, President of Promising People. “We are excited by this partnership and what it means for students at correctional facilities. This is the next natural step in preparing returning citizens for success in the hiring process.”
In the jobs report from October 4, 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that construction trades added an estimated 25,000 positions and healthcare added 45,000 overall.