A SCHEME to plug chronic skills shortages in the South West has been launched by the governor of Dartmoor Prison.
The innovative project will improve the training inmates receive to help them land a job upon their release.
Prison governor Graham Johnson said the scheme will be focussed on those who will be released into the South West. Training will be provided in partnership with the region's businesses.
Workshops within the jail could be turned over to businesses and enterprise agencies, to help teach inmates skills which will ensure they are better equipped for the world of work upon finishing their sentence.
Businesses are being approached by the prison governor to back the project as potential trainers and employers.
Mr Johnson said he was pleased with the initial interest in the idea. 'There is a rich seam of interest in the business sector, particularly within the construction industry.
'This is about training people and equipping them for business and areas of work. We are looking to fill the South West's skills gap.'
Mr Johnson said he was in negotiations with a whole range of businesses and partnership agencies. He said there might be some firms who would want to train up inmates for specific jobs and 'scoop them up' upon release. Others might want to provide training in a 'raft of skills' which would improve the prisoners chances of securing employment after they were released.
'This is new ground for us. We need to think of the prisoner as a member of society that happens to be in prison,' he said.
Mr Johnson said there were a number of reasons why prisoners re-offended, but he felt the scheme could 'impact upon repeat offending by giving prisoners the opportunity to find employment. That means they can secure an address, pay rent and get some security back in life.'
Mr Johnson said it was important to stop the process whereby prisoners were 'ill-equipped' for release, and to start providing training for them within the jail, which was tailored to meet skills shortages in the area.
He said one aim of the scheme would be to bring people from the South West who were in other institutions back to Dartmoor, and teach them in-demand skills prior to release, which would help them find employment.
Mr Johnson said the scheme was still in its infancy but he hoped the first stages of the project could be in place before the end of the year.
Interested businesses have been invited to contact the governor in charge of the project, Roy Da-Bell, on 01822 890261.
Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, who has been in dialogue with business about the scheme, said it could plug the skills gap in the building sector in the South West.
Mr Jones said everyone would benefit from 'training programmes that would be immediately relevant to the job' as it would ensure inmates were doing something 'useful to society and themselves'. He believed the initiative could reduce the present high re-offending rates.
'We are working together looking for some way we can provide a much more relevant programme which engages with new category C prisoners,' said Mr Jones.
'There is a massive shortage in the amount of skilled labour in construction,' said Mr Jones and he added that the jail's workshops were already well-suited for building work.
'If we can put the muscle from the business community behind the initiative as well, it could be rolled out throughout prisons in the South West and across the country,' he said.
Mr Jones added the programme was 'born out of necessity' because Dartmoor needed to change its image as a 200-year-old jail which many people perceived as 'Draconian'.
The ambitious plan has received backing from Devon and Cornwall Business Council, the Learning and Skills Council and the Prince's Trust.
The Construction Industry Training Board has also expressed interest in playing a major role in the project.
There is initial agreement under the Objective Two funding programme to help towards any workshop conversion needed within the prison.