The importance of work experience whilst in prison
Novus - Foundations for Change
At Novus we work with passion, care and commitment to create the foundations for change.
In England and Wales, the cost of reoffending to the taxpayer is approximately ￡18 billion per year. To reduce the cost of reoffending on society, prisoners need to be equipped with the skills, experience, and qualifications necessary to find work.?
At Novus, we equip learners with education, qualifications and work experience opportunities to ensure that they are ready to be successful members of society once released and find long-term employment.?
Work experience is an important pillar of our education delivery with learners of all abilities being able to access the work experience necessary to help them on their chosen career path.?
What type of work experience is available for prisoners??
We provide comprehensive prison education and training services in order to equip our learners with the skills and experience necessary to succeed.?
By partnering with employers, we are able to curate our education and training services to the needs of the current job market, providing the best opportunity for our learners to find employment once released.?
Vocational and technical education?
Our vocational and technical education provision includes:?
All courses are delivered by our skilled and experienced tutors and trainers who are experts in their field.?
Providing learners with industry-relevant skills and experience for their chosen career path means that they will be able to move into work or further training on their release.?
We offer a large variety of vocational training so that learners are given more opportunities to enter a career that they will enjoy and pursue upon release. We have developed a curriculum that is informed and co-designed by our partner employers, so our learners, and their future employers can be confident that they are gaining the relevant skills in their chosen career.?
Examples of our vocational courses include:?
Having access to work experience opportunities not only allows learners to gain the relevant skills needed for the industry in which they will work, but also gives them a glimpse of what it's like to work in that industry as well. Having a bank of work experience will also help learners during the interview process and make them more likely to be successful in their job applications as they will be able to show that they've had the relevant experience and are more than equipped for the job.?
Progression and career pathways
As well as work experience, we also offer learners support and guidance with their career pathways and job-related skills.?
Our colleagues are experts in their field and our knowledge of local labour market information and expectations from both local and national employers, help us to support our learners to make realistic and informed career choices.?
Our colleagues also work collaboratively with learners to plan their learning and work activities around the skills and experience needed to gain employment upon release.?
Our experienced and knowledgeable team also provide an extensive range of support to help learners develop the skills and strategies needed to find, apply for and secure jobs. Support includes help with CVs, job searching and applications as well as guidance on disclosure, interview prep and performance.?
Benefits of work experience for learners?
When it comes to work experience, learners gain a wide range of benefits including:
Industry-specific skill development through prison work?
One of the main benefits of work experience for learners is that they get to develop industry-specific skills through prison work. Having the opportunity to develop and gain skills in a work environment, enables learners to gain the experience necessary to understand what it's like to work in their chosen career.
Many learners across our prison sites have excelled in our work experience programmes, gaining industry-specific skills and the confidence in themselves to pursue the career that they have chosen.?
Learner success story at HMP Low Newton
A learner at HMP Low Newton , has achieved a level 2 qualification on the hairdressing course and has set a long-term goal to work with her son upon release, who is already a barber.?
The learner is keen to complete her level 3 hairdressing qualification whilst at HMP Low Newton and looks to further develop her digital skills as she understands how this can support business opportunities.?
By completing the level 2 hairdressing course, the learner gained the relevant skills needed to be a hairdresser and has already made plans for her future career upon her release.
Enhanced self-esteem and self-worth
Work experience in prisons doesn't just help learners in a practical sense, it also benefits their self-esteem and self-worth. Having something to work towards and gaining new skills shows our learners that they can achieve what they set their mind to, increasing their self-esteem and how they see themselves.?
Fostering a sense of responsibility
Fostering a sense of responsibility is another benefit that learners gain from taking part in work experience. If learners are on the hospitality course, then they may have to make lunch for their peers or prison staff in the kitchen, or a hairdresser will be asked to cut someone's hair as part of their course. Being given tasks like this gives learners a sense of responsibility and independence which they will then want to rise to and prove that they can be responsible and take charge.?
Healthy routine?
Having a job to go to whilst in prison, enables learners to develop a routine. They have something productive to get up for. Having a healthy routine whilst in prison will also benefit learners upon release, as they know what is expected of them once they find employment. If learners have been getting up and going to work whilst in prison, then they won't find it such a challenge once released, enabling them to secure long-term employment.
Having a healthy routine, will also benefit learner's mental health and well-being as they're working towards their goals and not just sitting around doing nothing. It enables learners to see the bigger picture and working towards something productive that will benefit them in the long run will make for happier and more positive individuals.?
Benefits of prison work experience for society
Being able to provide work experience in prison will also benefit society in the long run. Learners who are able to work towards nationally recognised qualifications and skills in their chosen career, will help them to find employment upon release thus reducing the reoffending rates.?
Providing learners with the opportunities to better themselves and gain the qualifications needed to find employment means that they are equipped with the skills needed to become positive role models in society.?
Working with employer partners?
For over 30 years, we have been working in partnership with a varied range of local and national employers.?
Working with employers such as Greene King, The Pret Foundation and Balfour Beatty enables us to create employer-led vocational training programmes and develop viable routes into employment.?
Our partnerships also allow learners to create connections and professional relationships with local and national businesses that will help them to find employment upon release.
Working collaboratively with ISG Electrics to provide employment opportunities for learners at HMP Lancaster Farms
HMP Lancaster Farms have been working collaboratively with ISG Electrics, to develop and deliver employer-led workshops for learners interested in a career in Electrical Installation. The aim of the workshops is to ensure learners have the right skills and qualifications for their chosen career path, supporting more learners into employment post release.?
Lancaster Farms are one of a very limited number of sites offering the Electrical Installation qualifications across the prison estate. The curriculum is employer-led and up to industry standard. As well as being C&G accredited to enable successful graduates' direct access to work with electrical installation contractors upon release.?
Additional and supplementary workshops have been developed alongside employers to ensure learners are equipped with the skills and qualifications needed to meet the requirements of the role, with those due to be released also able to obtain their CSCS card accreditation.?
ISG Electrics are also running a sponsorship for learners, looking at post-release employment options.?
Novus Works
At Novus we also have our Novus Works team who act as the middle ground between our learners and employer partners, creating a bridge from education to employment.?
For learners, Novus Works help to build confidence through interview practice and CV development, whilst on the employer end, Novus Works help pair prison leavers with local and national businesses and help minimise the resources required to secure talent.?
Employment success for learners at HMP Kirkham
One learner working in the kitchen at HMP Kirkham , reached out to the Novus Works team on site for support in moving into the hospitality industry on release from prison. Whilst he previously had worked in construction, his time and training with Novus had inspired a new passion for food which he wanted to explore further.
With this in mind, our colleagues arranged two interviews for the learner with a local pub and ASK Italian. Thanks to the training from our team members, he was offered a position at both businesses and in the end decided that the position at ASK Italian would be most appropriate. He started work the week following his release and he's since reached out to the Novus Works team to thank them for their support and encouragement in securing employment.
Business success for former HMP Styal learner
A former learner from HMP Styal, who served a 3-year sentence managed to turn her life around for the better, thanks to the education and employability support she received whilst in prison.?
Whilst serving her sentence the learner took part in our education provision, first attending English classes so she could get out of her cell. Whilst attending lessons, the learner met Julie from Novus Works where they spoke about the learner's future and employment prospects, where she expressed interest in becoming a beautician.
Shortly after her discussions with Julie, the learner requested to go into the Novus beauty salon, once accepted the learner worked hard and managed to achieve her Level 2 in a beauty course, a couple of months before she was released.?
However, upon release the learner lacked the confidence to pursue a career in beauty so instead decided to do some part-time work elsewhere. On her commute to work everyday she walked past a beauty salon, advertising Botox and filler treatments. Intrigued by the treatments, the former learner decided to take part in further training so she could be qualified in doing further beauty treatments.?
Once completing the training, the learner decided to start doing?beauty treatments on people locally, from the comfort of her home. Bookings came in fast, and the learner was able to move to a bigger home with a separate beauty room. She now runs a successful beauty business thanks to the education and employability support, the former learner received from Novus and colleagues from Novus Works.
If you'd like to learn more or are interested in working with us to provide new and innovative opportunities to learners, contact us via our work with us page.
Managing Director at Novus and Group Executive Lead for Business Development at LTE Group
3 个月Supporting learners to be work ready on release is a vital part of prison education, helping to reduce reoffending rates. There are so many fantastic examples from across the prisons where Novus - Foundations for Change work and it's great to see a few of them in this article, well worth a read!