Before release, prisoners are trained to work on the railroad tracks. Photo: David Rose for The Telegraph
At HM Prison Highpoint In rural Suffolk, a group of prisoners repair and assemble model railway tracks in the rain.
Nearby, a room full of sockets has been set up, ready for another group of prisoners to take part in an electrical training course, while others fix broken IT equipment for the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) headquarters.
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These are just some of the training courses offered to the prison's 1,300 inmates, ranging from forklift driving to gardening, furniture painting and even traffic management.
As Britain suffers from labor shortages, Rishi Sunak saw a new opportunity in Britain's overcrowded prisons. Hoping ex-prisoners can be part of the solution, the Prime Minister is calling on big business to recruit prison leavers as part of a national campaign.
KPMG on Wednesday became the first British white-collar company to work with the Ministry of Justice to employ ex-offenders.
Prisons and Probation Minister Ed Argar believes there are around a million vacancies in the UK labor market and prisoners can provide “businesses with the staff they need to boost the UK economy”.
As one of the largest Category C prisons in the country, with ex-prisoners including Boy George and Amy Winehouse's ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, Highpoint focuses on training prisoners who are at low risk of escaping.
Prisoners who refuse to take part in any training or education are denied certain privileges, such as watching television and time to exercise, until they consent.
Large Category C prisons like this will come under increasing pressure to help tackle Britain's unemployment crisis in the years ahead. The number of Britons classified as economically inactive, meaning they are neither in work nor looking for one, has risen to 9.25 million since the pandemic.
At the same time, there are concerns that criminals who are being released early to ease the prison overcrowding crisis are returning within days of being left homeless.
The Ministry of Justice is seeking to improve educational opportunities for prisoners at HMP Highpoint after the watchdog said in January it had failed to achieve its main goal of preparing them for life after release.
Courses offered are constantly changing.
Nicola Gibbins, the prison's head of learning and skills, reviews official data once a month to find out where the biggest skills shortages are in the country. Next on the agenda is likely to be a hospitality course designed to prepare prisoners for potential work in British pubs, cafes and restaurants.
“We look at what the labor market is saying, where the gaps are, where the gaps are,” she says.
By offering a range of courses, including furniture painting, prisoners can gain access to a trade they feel suits them. Photo: David Rose for The Telegraph
Alex Pond, Executive Director of Learning, City & The guilds, which run a railway course in prison and an upcoming electrical course at HMP Highpoint, feel passionately that people in prison want a second chance.
“Everyone has a skills shortage, we have too many prisoners wanting to work,” he says. The country needs to ensure that each prison offers different types of training, adds Pond.
“You wouldn't want to spend £2 million on a railway academy in every prison, but you would in two or three.”
Pond says the skills taught must match the skills shortage in the area, adding that prisoners should be allowed to move between prisons depending on the skills needed where they will be released.
Pond admits that despite the training, there are still some prisoners who do not continue to work after release or end up reoffending, but argues that prison teaching skills can offer hope to those who have long felt demoralized. .
“I grew up in a working-class mining village, many of my comrades know ex-criminals – we could all end up in prison someday if things went wrong for us,” he says. “The lack of opportunity for some of these people is quite disheartening. If you make a difference in someone's life here, the social impact is huge.”
HMP Highpoint presents an Electrical Engineering course recognized by the City & Guild Writers: David Rose for The Telegraph
A prisoner on a railway course looks hopeful as he nears the end of his two-year sentence and prepares for a job in the industry.
“Definitely not [what I expected], but I like that there are different paths I can take and the money is good,” he says. “People want to work in jobs that also interest them. If they don't have a passion for it, they won't be motivated to work and no one will benefit from it – neither the employer nor the employee.”
Making learning opportunities more interesting in higher security prisons is becoming a political issue as the Prime Minister tries to resolve multiple crises.
Prison cells are filling up too quickly while jobs are scarce.
Internal figures obtained by The Telegraph last month showed men's prisons were 99.7% full, with just 238 places remaining out of a total capacity of 85,000.
Prison inspectors last week identified cases release of prisoners. 18 days before their scheduled release date, who were recalled to prison, and some found themselves back behind bars even before their original release date had passed.
Many companies have long argued that the key to solving the labor crisis may lie in Britain's prisons.
Bakery chain Greggs and shoe repair and key-making retailer Timpson have been hiring ex-convicts for years, and now the government wants big business to follow.
As the jobs crisis worsens, ministers and the UK's biggest employers are beginning to realize the solution may be hiding in plain sight.
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