Max Rumley, head of reducing reoffending at HMP Fosse Way, a prison operated by Serco, discusses how a facilities management operation staffed by prisoners demonstrates the benefits of training and employment schemes for ex-offenders.
With many UK recruiters reporting a decrease in the number of job vacancies into 2025, finding work is increasingly challenging, and the barriers are particularly high for ex-offenders. Tackling this problem could be the most significant factor in reducing reoffending rates – so what is being done?
New employment councils, aimed at bringing together probation, prisons and local businesses, acknowledge how both ex-prisoners and employers can benefit from improved employment schemes running within prisons – both in terms of tackling skills gaps and reducing reoffending. Many are now watching with interest at how various schemes being run by both public and private sector institutions perform.
Ex-offenders training
Employment councils set up to help offenders into work
One example I have been closely involved with is at HMP Fosse Way in Leicester, where a team of 35 prisoners, aided by prison staff, deliver facilities management (FM) services to support the effective running of the prison building.
As one of the largest prison-staffed FM schemes in the UK, it focuses on training and routes to employment post-release. Crucially, it benefits businesses by creating workshops and roles directly informed by labour market data.
Where the data shows significant skills gaps, both UK-wide and in the local area, workshops are established to target shortfalls in those specific industries.
By offering a broad range of workshops, the team at HMP Fosse Way ensures that prisoners who lack experience can acquire valuable trade skills such as carpentry, painting and decorating, or even making components for new-build prisons. With supervision from a professional team, prisoners’ skills can then be used both within the prison and for the wider benefit of the local community.
One example of our partnerships with employers is with the National Association of Air Duct Cleaners, representing an industry which recently experienced a labour shortage across the UK resulting in more than 1,500 vacancies. Training workshops have now been set up at Fosse Way where prisoners can acquire the relevant skills and qualifications within three weeks. Upon release, they are then able to work proactively within these vacancies. To date, over 250 prisoners have qualified already.
Motivated and trustworthy
Employers not only benefit from skills availability but also from committed staff. From experience, the scheme creates loyal and hardworking employees, evidenced more widely by research conducted by the Ministry of Justice, which showed that 90% of businesses that employ ex-offenders agree that they are “good attenders, motivated and trustworthy”.
Being a part of the wider FM team within the prison itself is also an aspiration for many in custody, encouraging them to engage with active work and training to prove their reliability and hard work. Upon arrival at HMP Fosse Way, for example, our information and advice guidance team meet with prisoners to conduct interviews and background assessments. This enables our teams to guide individuals towards suitable workshops.
Initial assessment of prisoners allows us to identify individuals with existing trade experience so they can put these skills to good use and also develop them further by working with fellow prisoners. For example, one prisoner who was a part of this employment scheme and had previously worked in a construction environment had said it “felt good to be able to help other people out within the workshop, mentoring them to a safe standard and coaching them on how to do things correctly and safely”.
The nature of this shared work creates a sense of community, fostering connections as well as independence – both of which help with rehabilitation and further improve employability for prisoners. As Fosse Way is a Category-C prison, prisoners are allowed to go to work under curfew or during working weeks. Through employment schemes such as ours, prisoners are gaining industry skills and important soft skills such as self-sufficiency and reliability, which can improve their chances of securing sustainable employment upon release.
Training for ex-offenders
The impact of this is clear when we look at the stories of ex-offenders who have successfully transitioned into employment outside of prison. One former prisoner, who gained a job as a highway operative after his release, is undergoing further training thanks to his newfound ambitions. While his work currently focuses on the repair and maintenance of equipment, his training will eventually enable him to operate HGVs.
Speaking of his experience at HMP Fosse Way, he said: “Every day is different, and the company is willing to invest in me, meaning that I’m gaining more qualifications, keeping my work varied and progressing my career. I’ve been supported through every step of the journey by a great team of people and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”
By offering employment schemes, prisons such as HMP Fosse Way are removing the barriers many prisoners face while establishing a unique pipeline of talent for businesses to access. Similar approaches to ours across all UK prisons will be vital in reducing reoffending, creating positive working environments and, crucially, diversifying the much-needed talent pool that employers across all industries will depend on.
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