Empowering women in prison
The Women and Manual Trades programme is delighted to have launched a pioneering training programme at HMP Styal in Cheshire with City & Guilds, marking the first ever construction workshop within the women’s prison estate.
Having built a strong partnership with HMP Styal over the last two years, running short “introduction to construction” courses, the WaMT team has worked with the prison to be able to include construction on their curriculum. A ten-week property maintenance bootcamp kicked off in November, starting with a one-week Health and Safety course and Construction Skills Certification Scheme training. A “meet the employer” event took place this month, and this is being followed by nine weeks of property maintenance practical training, starting in January.
During this time, participants will gain hands-on experience in real construction tasks. The focus is on actively working with tools and materials, allowing the women to apply what they learn in a real-world setting, rather than just covering theory.
Lauren Nolan, Prison Employment Lead at HMP Styal said:
“This will be the first ever construction workshop within the female estate, which is a huge accomplishment for us as a prison and we are very grateful to Women and Manual Trades at Procure Plus for supporting us in implementing this.
“Female prisons typically deliver qualifications such as hair & beauty and catering & hospitality. To have the opportunity to deliver qualifications and avenues into employment that move away from the more gender stereotypical opportunities and diversify our offer for the women in our custody, is incredibly exciting, both for the prison and for the women themselves.
“This is only possible as a result of collaborative working over the previous two years, including successful ‘Have a Go days’, construction sector-led jobs fairs, CSCS courses, and employment outcomes on both temporary license and release. The ongoing support and understanding of the needs of women leaving custody has been outstanding and has massively contributed to our successful outcomes. I personally look forward to seeing the increase in success stories following on from the upcoming bootcamps and look forward to developing this partnership even further.”
The project leverages funding from City & Guilds’ Training division to cover the bootcamp training course, while its Foundation division provided the setup funds. Joinery tools have been provided by Jewsons, a supplier of WaMT’s parent company Procure Plus’, and the rest of the required equipment has been funded by Procure Plus’ charity, Re:vision.
The WaMT team has brought together a strong partnership of organisations to deliver this programme, with City & Guilds’ support, Rosscon Training delivering the construction course, B4Box fitting out the prison’s workshop, HMP Styal placing candidates on the courses, and a variety of Procure Plus’ construction partners engaging to provide employment opportunities for the women.
Faiza Khan MBE, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs & Foundation, City & Guilds said:
“We’re delighted to be supporting this programme, both through our Training division and through our Foundation. As we move into new training sectors, we aim to increase the range and availability of job-relevant skills for female learners within prisons, helping them to secure sustainable work after release.”
Mike Brogan, Chief Executive at Procure Plus, added:
“This initiative is about reaching those furthest from the labour market and offering a real chance for change. With women making up only a small fraction of the construction workforce, it’s crucial that we create opportunities like this to challenge industry norms.
“The shorter courses have already led to great successes with former prisoners securing full-time roles on release, and also with current prisoners securing positions whilst working on ROTL (release on temporary licence).
“We hope this longer course will ensure the women develop valuable, employable skills whilst building their confidence to work within the construction industry either on ROTL or a job on release.
“At Procure Plus, we are committed to creating opportunities that deliver long-term social value, and we hope to see more workshops of this kind providing opportunities for women’s prisons across the country.”
18th December 2024