Beyond the Badge, Inside CDCR Video, Rehabilitation

Meet Jorge Arias, CTF plumbing instructor

May 5, 2025

American Plumber Stories recently featured instructor Jorge Arias and the Correctional Training Facility vocational plumbing program in a two-part series.

Inside CDCR caught up with Arias to discuss his career and how he got started in plumbing.

For Jorge Arias, plumbing is a family legacy

Jorge Arias, CTF vocational plumbing instructor. — Jorge Arias, CTF vocational plumbing instructor

Jorge Arias had a strong role model in his plumber father, and always knew he wanted to follow in his footsteps. Now he shares his knowledge with incarcerated men at the Correctional Training Facility (CTF) at Soledad.

Arias is a vocational plumbing instructor at CTF, where he teaches students the plumbing trade. Through hands-on training and mentorship, he helps them gain practical skills, build confidence, and discover a renewed sense of purpose.

From an early age Arias accompanied his father to work sites. “My dad was basically my hero,” he said.

Arias now takes his 9-year-old son with him to jobs on weekends and after school. “He knows how to identify some tools, pipes, and fittings,” Arias said. “The biggest thing is he knows work ethics.”

Paying it forward

In his role as a vocational plumbing instructor at CTF, Arias guides incarcerated students who might not have had a father figure growing up.

“I’m able to help people who never had that help at home,” he said. “If you train men who have been in this cycle for years and give them a trade and something to look forward to, it might ignite change, not only for themselves but in our communities.”

CTF Warden Edward Borla encourages others in the community to reach out and make a difference. “If you have a skill you can offer to the incarcerated population, reach out to your local prison to find out how you can get involved and give back,” he said. “You might hold the key to someone’s future, giving something that is going to make them more successful when they get out.”

“My goal is to help them change their identities from felons to plumbers when they’re done with parole,” Arias said. “Because once you’re plumbing, you’re known as a plumber. People always go where they’re needed and wanted. As a plumber, we’re needed and wanted because of the skills we have.”

Making an impact

The American Plumber team returned to CTF to screen the first episode with Arias’s vocational plumbing class and film the students’ reactions.

“Last time I was on TV, it was a press conference with a deputy sheriff in Fresno looking for me,” said one of the students who was featured. “To see this and know it’s a positive thing, really brought joy to me. I know my mother’s going to see this and how happy she’s going to be.”

Story by Mary Xjimenez, Information Officer II
Office of Public and Employee Communications

Watch the two episodes on YouTube: