Posted by: Department for Education mediaofficer
Apprenticeships help people get the
skills that employers want and need, and we know employment is
one of the best tools in reducing reoffending.
Prisoners across England who are
eligible for release on temporary licence and nearing the end of
their sentence can now take advantage of apprenticeships. The
ground-breaking new scheme, announced earlier this year, will help more prisoners
kickstart rewarding careers in vital industries including
hospitality and construction while helping to cut reoffending
rates and crime.
Why are we allowing prisoners
to access apprenticeships?
Prisoners are already able to study,
train and work while in prison, and thousands are already doing
vital work in the community.
However, until now prisoners in
England have been unable to take advantage of apprenticeships,
which are a proven route to supporting more people to secure
great jobs.
We have changed the law so prisoners
eligible for release on temporary licence and nearing the end of
their sentence can access
high quality apprenticeship opportunities and gain the skills
needed to secure work on their
release.
Evidence highlighted that prison leavers who are in work are
significantly less likely to
re-offend.
Allowing prisoners to access
apprenticeship is an important step in helping to break the cycle
of crime and support prisoner reintegration into society.
Learning new skills and becoming a valued member of the workforce
will help to lower rates of reoffending, making our streets safer
and reducing pressure on our police and criminal justice
system.
How will it
work?
We are working with a number of
employers across a range of sectors, including Sheffield City
Council, Co-op and Premier Foods to support up to 300 prisoners
to start their apprenticeship journey by March
2025.
The first prisoners have already
started their apprenticeships with Timpson,
Greene King and Kier in roles including cheffing and highway
maintenance. As with all apprenticeships, the new apprentices
will earn while they learn, benefiting from high quality on and off the job
training.
This new opportunity to start working
and earning before the end of their
sentence offers prisoners
the chance to get a head start at a brighter future and a better
chance at transforming their lives.
Should employers be worried
about taking on prisoners as
apprentices?
Research by Kantar, commissioned by
the Ministry of Justice, found that prisoners make trustworthy,
hardworking and punctual employees who are an asset to the
company they work for.
Those who fail to show up for work
could risk being sent back to prison, which is a strong incentive
for offenders to dedicate themselves to their new life as
reliable and committed employees.
James Timpson, Chief Executive
of the Timpson Group, said:
At the Timpson Group, we have a track
record of championing ex-offenders and providing them with
employment opportunities that enable them to break the cycle of
reoffending, reintegrate into society and make positive
contributions to the economy.
Key to this mission is ensuring that
offenders have as many opportunities as possible to gain skills
and training while completing their sentence. As such, we are
delighted to be providing one of the first ever work placements
for the prisoner apprenticeship scheme at The Partridge pub and
are looking forward to working with Novus and Total People to
ensure this opportunity can be offered to other prisoners who
could benefit from an apprenticeship.
Nick Mackenzie, Chief
Executive of Greene
King, said:
We are proud to have now supported 135
prison leavers into employment through our Releasing Potential
programme, but our ambition doesn’t stop there. We have an
important role to play in supporting social mobility and the
change in law means those in prison can learn new skills to
enable them to build a career once they leave prison, which is
key to successful rehabilitation. We’re really pleased that
we’ll now be able to offer our award-winning apprenticeship
programme to prisoners and hope that more people will be able to
join us at Greene King upon release.
How will this impact my local
community?
Giving prisoners the opportunity to
start an apprenticeship is a fantastic way to support them to
learn the skills they need to gain employment after they are
released, assisting their rehabilitation, reducing the likelihood
of reoffending, and helping to keep our communities
safe.
It is also a great way for employers
to develop the skilled workforce they need, helping to plug
skills gaps, particularly in industries suffering from a labour
shortage. Communities will also benefit from the boost to the
local economy.
