ATLANTA — The State Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Department of Corrections are teaming up on a dual-certification program that equips graduates with the skills to work as either a parole officer or probation officer.

The Basic Probation/Parole Officer Training Course is scheduled to graduate its first class of 63 participants Thursday, with 14 going to parole and 49 going to probation.

“We see this as another good example of interoperability between two agencies who share the same mission,” said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gwendolyn Hogan.

Probation and parole both allow offenders to stay out of jail or prison as long as they comply with a specific set of conditions. Parole is granted by the parole board and gives offenders rules to follow in exchange for allowing them to serve the rest of their sentences out of jail. Probation is run by the Department of Corrections in Georgia, is imposed by the courts and generally is an alternative to a prison sentence.