It’s not often organisations working within the criminal justice field are awarded trophies, so it was a tremendous surprise to receive one recently. It wasn’t an actual trophy if the truth be told, but it did feel like we had won one.
Following on from a course we delivered last year in HMP Lincoln, we have been successful in bidding to deliver two further courses at the prison in early 2020. These four-week courses will see us deliver accredited employment skills linked to the Construction and Manufacturing industries. A City and Guilds Level 2 qualification will be used to meet the demands of each industry.
The courses will give learners an introduction to each industry and will be delivered by tutors with relevant industry experience, supported by a member of our team with first-hand experience of the criminal justice system. Learners will receive a practical education and peer-led support at the same time.
At the end of the courses, employers from each industry will be invited into the prison to meet the men, give a talk about their industry, routes into it and then hold a series of mock interviews. Our employers will present certificates as we hold a graduation ceremony to celebrate the end of the four-week programme. Upon release from prison, the men will continue to receive Offploy’s support as they begin their journey into employment.
This is the first time Offploy has been awarded a contract through the Ministry of Justice’s Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System. Reflecting on this success, Richard Strauss, Offploy’s Strategic Development Lead, commented;
“We are overjoyed to have been awarded this contract by HMP Lincoln, which recognises our ability to deliver top-quality accredited programmes alongside peer support and tangible job outcomes.
It gives us another opportunity to bring more employers into the prison and showcase the hard work and talent that exists within it. It will also allow us to show the men that there are employers who will recruit people with criminal convictions, who will consider them and who will give them hope and opportunity.”