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OFFENDER LEARNING FOR EMPLOYMENT – INCREASING THE PACE OF REFORM
13 December 2006
A new drive to cut crime by getting offenders into training and jobs was announced today by Education and Skills Secretary Alan Johnson.
In a speech at a cross Government conference in London, the Education Secretary announced £500,000 funding for pilot schemes in two regions to drive forward ambitious reforms to improve offenders skills and jobs prospects to stop them re-offending. Mr Johnson said punishment and protecting the public was the primary aim of the criminal justice system but must go hand in hand with rehabilitation to help break the cycle of reoffending to prevent further crime; giving offenders a chance to change their lives through education and employment; and providing further skilled workers for the economy. The announcement is part of the Government’s Next Steps document which implements actions following on from last year’s green paper “Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment”. Under the proposals, more help will be given to offenders who show they are prepared to take action to turn away from crime and employers will be encouraged to start offender job schemes. Offenders undertaking training packages will be offered interviews and employers will get extra support to give work trials leading to jobs.The measures announced include:• Bringing agencies and employers together to offer offenders better options for work training and jobs, including employability contracts and a mentor support system;• Engaging more employers through a ‘Reducing Re-offending Corporate Alliance’, promoting the employment of offenders in areas of recruitment difficulties and skills shortages;• Exploring ways of introducing offenders into work through trials of ‘recruit, train and interview packages’ with advice on self-employment;• Implementing employability ‘contracts’ setting out offender’s rights and responsibilities and helping them develop marketable skills and get into sustainable jobs; • Introducing job developer pilots in six cities to break down barriers to offenders getting jobs, by giving employers tailored advice and support. Launching the action plan, ‘Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment: Next Steps’, Alan Johnson said:
“Repeat offending carries an enormous cost, socially as well as economically. Skills and employment programmes can turn offenders away from crime and into meaningful work, encouraging them to lead productive lives in their communities. “At the heart of our reform is the need to tackle the obstacles of low skills and lack of employment opportunities that prevent offenders living crime free lives. By joining up training and labour market needs more closely we can create a win-win situation for employers and offenders while also protecting the public by cutting crime.”Two English regions selected as pilots will design, develop and test proposals. These will receive development funding to test out new models of delivery, with other regions adopting new approaches as they evolve using a framework in which existing good work and proven ideas can influence others. The Right Honourable Baroness Scotland QC, Minister of State for Criminal Justice and Offender Management, said:"Our first duty is to protect the public, reduce crime and protect victims. In order to do this, we have to reduce the level of offending and re-offending in smarter and innovative ways. This document builds on the cross Government work on education, training and the Reducing Re-offending Pathways and Corporate Alliance launched in 2005. Crime affects us all and we need to work together to make a difference and to build a net which will jointly support offenders and protect our communities."The Next Steps plan includes further development of the Corporate Alliance to enable us to work with employers from all sectors to improve offenders' chances of finding a job on release and thus become law abiding citizens. I want to acknowledge the significant number of businesses, public and third sector organisations who are already doing an excellent job such as delivering vocational training in prisons, taking on offenders and giving them work and we look forward to building on their good practice." Minister of State for Employment, Jim Murphy said:"My visit to Wandsworth Prison last week highlighted the importance of improving skills provision for offenders so they can re enter the work force upon release. Work is the best way of reducing re-offending and it is essential that we ensure offenders have the skills employers require. We are looking at how we can improve the provision of skills by Jobcentre Plus to help ex-offenders return to the labour market quickly and turn their back on crime."
The Government has consulted widely and proposals have been endorsed across the criminal justice system, learning providers and employers. John Foster, who takes on offenders on release to work at his bakery, said: “I have no regrets. I had to overcome my natural risk aversive nature but I’m happy to say that the offenders I have taken on have been model employees.”‘Next steps’ continues the cross-Government approach under which three Departments - Education and Skills, Home Office, and Work and Pensions, work together to a common agenda on reducing re-offending through skills and employment. It builds on the programme of reform already underway through the Learning and Skills Council’s Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) which has helped integrate offender learning with mainstream post-16 education and training. The Adult Learning Inspectorate in its Chief Inspector’s Annual Report on 12 December praised the recent ‘dramatic improvement’ in the quality of training for offenders. At the same time the National Offender Management Service has embedded close cross-agency working through regional partnership boards and regional reducing re-offending strategies across a range of key services.
Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'
1. The Green Paper, Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment was published on 15 December 2005. 2. The consultation to the Green Paper ended in May 2006. Responses showed support for the broad aims of proposals. 3. The Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) brings the funding and commissioning arrangements for offender learning under the remit of the LSC. It was rolled out nationally (across England) on 31 July this year.4. The competition for the two regional test beds outlined in ‘Next Steps’, will call for bids early in the new year. Successful regions will be appointed in spring 2007. Bids will need to have the clear support of regional Reducing Re-offending partnership boards, demonstrating the endorsement of regional and local partners for the test-bed. 5. Detailed plans outlined in ‘Next steps ’include:• Employability Contract, with customised packages of interventions and support to help more offenders develop marketable skills and get into sustainable jobs. In return for more support, offenders would need to commit to actions and standards of behaviour expressed in the contract;• Piloting new approaches for young offenders in the run up to the full roll-out of the 14-19 curriculum offer;• Building on the review of school-age offender education, with consultation on the key issues in the New Year to be followed by published plans for reform later in 2007.6. John Foster works for Foster’s bakery in Barnsley. Offenders arrive at the bakery with the NVQ bakery skills achieved in Lindholme prison. Three prisoners have achieved level 3, and two of these have been offered employment at Fosters. In all, Fosters have offered 8 employment places to offenders leaving Lindholme, one in supervisory management who is in the process of moving to retain his employment7.The £500,000 allocated for the trialling of the proposals in two test bed regions has been found from within existing DfES resources. Regions will be invited to bid early in the new year with a view to appointing the test bed regions. Bids will need to have the support of Reducing Re-Offending Partnership Boards thereby demonstrating local endorsement.8. The National Reducing Re-offending Delivery Plan was published in November 2005, at the same time Baroness Scotland launched three alliances: the Corporate Alliance, the Faith and Voluntary Sector Alliance and the Civic Society Alliance:
• The Corporate Alliance aims to inform and work directly with employers of all sizes from the private, voluntary and public sectors. Employment is one of the key factors in helping to reduce re-offending and providing jobs to offenders is an investment that will help reduce the cost of crime to local communities. As well as offering employment, businesses can also help to improve the employability of offenders by providing mentoring, sponsoring training workshops, donating equipment or helping to improve the job search skills of young offenders. We are promoting the message to employers that taking on offenders can benefit business, fill labour gaps and also support their corporate responsibility programmes;
• The Civic Society Alliance builds on our relationships at a local level with local authorities, local organisations and local communities to ensure offenders have equality of access to services providing housing, employment, sport, leisure, music and the arts; and also highlights how 'Community Payback', unpaid work by offenders, can meet the needs of local people and be seen to repair the harm caused by crime;
• The Faith/Voluntary sector Alliance is building on the good work already underway to help bridge the gap between offenders and mainstream society by volunteers and mentors working with offenders in prisons and local communities, and voluntary and community organisations providing practical support and guidance on accommodation, employment, drugs and alcohol, finance, benefits, etc.
Contact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Press Notice 2006/0189
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