CADD

Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD) is an integral part of OCE's manufacturing operations for wood, metal, signage, and upholstery. AICs learn to work with cutting edge, specialized software to design and draft objects and materials for production. They also have the opportunity to learn to program Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machinery. They are able to generate modular 3D computer models, complete with dimensions, bills of materials, cut lists, details of the design process, and realistic renderings.

Graphic Design

Training for a fast-growing and innovative industry, the AICs in the Graphic Design program create materials for in-house use and outside customers. As a key element of the OCE Marketing cohort, they are essential in producing high-quality imagery and layouts for our marketing materials. AICs in this program develop a wide skillset using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Animate, and Audition, as well as Autodesk 3ds Max, and Microsoft Office programs among others. Their work is seen across the state of Oregon and at the national level.

Scanning

This program is particularly valuable to government agencies looking to reduce the cost of warehousing archived documents and increase the efficiency of fulfilling public records requests. Participants learn and refine their skills in working in a production team environment, document conversion, setting up file-naming conventions, organizing electronic files, bookmarking formats per project specifications, quality control, and production tracking. AICs learn Microsoft Excel and Word, plus Adobe Acrobat software. This program is currently developing a certification program to formalize the training and help AICs evidence their completion of the curriculum.

Website Remediation

One of our programs for incarcerated women at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) is the analysis and reporting of offline web pages, forms and documents. Participants learn accessibility remediation, allowing on-line access to the visually impaired per government regulations. After completing months of rigorous training and testing, participants become Trusted Testers certified by the Office of Accessibility Systems and Technology under the Department of Homeland Security.

Through OCE's partnership with Access2online, these women are now qualified to test websites (in an offline environment) for accessibility to the visually impaired. Their expertise joins the national effort to allow the visually impaired to benefit from the internet; a tool that has become an essential part of life in most of the world.

While the Access2online program is relatively new to the prison environment, it is already supporting successful transition from incarceration into Oregon communities. Upon release from prison, the over a dozen participants in the program so far had jobs waiting for them with the Access2online corporate office.

While American prisons do not allow AICs to have unfettered access to the internet, most states, including Oregon, have developed offline environments or secure, direct portals to specific sites which allow for education, training, and production. Industry-recognized certifications are difficult for those in custody to obtain because most testing is done online, but the recent partnership with ODOC, OCE, Access2online, and the Department of Homeland Security is evidence that difficult does not mean impossible.