Apprenticeship training is structured on-the-job training combined with related classroom instruction. Most apprenticeship training is paid for by private businesses, with some training paid for by organized labor. Some apprenticeship programs have been developed in correctional facilities, both federally operated and state-operated institutions. Currently, more than 125 apprenticeship programs, with several thousand participants, have been set up throughout the country with help from the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training of the U.S. Department of Labor. Some of the programs are for inmates only, some for corrections facilities staff, and many for both. Some prisoners have successfully completed apprenticeship programs and have gone on to become successful employees of private businesses or industries. Some of the problems of implementing a correctional apprenticeship program include getting minimum wage waivers, giving related instruction outside of vocational education or community college facilities, administration, and transfer of inmates from one facility to another. Although setting up an apprenticeship program can be difficult, it is worth the effort. One study showed that the recidivism rate for prisoners who had completed an apprenticeship program was one-third the rate of others released. Such programs can help prepare prisoners while helping to prepare the work force needed for the future. (KC)