A new prisoner apprenticeship pathway is being introduced to give prisoners who undergo training while in custody a guaranteed job upon release.
Justice secretary David Gauke MP announced a new jobs strategy aimed at cutting reoffending today and apprenticeships form a major part.
The prisoner apprenticeship pathway will offer an alternative means of delivering training in custody that guarantees jobs on release.
Gauke (pictured) said in his speech announcing the strategy: “Frankly, there are too many low-level qualifications being delivered that reap little or no reward for prisoners and are of little relevance for employers.”
“Education in prisons needs to be much more closely tailored to the skills that employers in the local area need.”
“That’s why our prisoner apprenticeship pathway is helping link training with employment opportunities by giving a 12-month apprenticeship on release—that’s a guaranteed job and a guaranteed income.”
“And governors know their prisoners and local areas best. I’ve said before that governors should govern. That’s why from April next year, they will be given full control of over how education is delivered in their prisons, able to tailor it to meet the needs of local employers and the local labour market.”
A new organisation, the New Futures Network, will also forge and foster links between employers and prisons to create jobs for prisoners.
