Job skills light pathway to freedom for prisoners
Frame, truss project helps inmates turn their lives around in preparing for life outside
One prisoner couldn’t even hold down a job in a teddy bear factory. But a programme teaching inmates to make frames and trusses for new homes in Auckland helped him turn his life around.
The prisoner, who the Herald has agreed to call David, can’t be identified as he is still serving time. But former inmate Mark Hughes can; he was released last year.
The two men wanted to share how their experience in PlaceMakers’ employment programme at the Kohuora Auckland South Corrections Facility motivated them to change.
Prisoners receive in-depth training in planning, production, despatch, safety and quality. They can progress from entry-level staff to supervisor and are paid by Corrections.
Thirty-two prisoners are in the programme and 14 have graduated into employment. Seven are still working for the company and three have moved on to other jobs.
A safe place to stay, a job to go to and a supportive family are the three key ingredients to rehabilitation, says Serco prison director Mike Inglis. He said the programme encouraged responsibility for the men as they had to write their own CVs, apply for the scheme, be interviewed for the role and turn up on time.
Hughes applied while serving a two-year sentence for reasons he chose not to share. The scheme, combined with the love he felt from his partner and four daughters, got him on the straight and narrow.
“I used to be a lone wolf and usually take off by myself, that’s where the trouble was. When I got incarcerated it showed me how much my family love me and how much I love them.”
He was employed last November but has now moved on to “brighter horizons” doing fibreglass lamination for a company he had previously worked for. His goal is to stay crimefree and accept the support for his family. One day he hopes to get into management.
David left school at 14 as “it wasn’t working for me and I wasn’t working at it”. One of his first jobs was at a teddy bear factory where he was tasked with gluing the bow ties on bears. He lasted two months. “I got fired because of my attitude.
“I didn’t like being told what to do. I thought I was my own boss. Now I’m getting used to not needing control all the time.”
While struggling with drug and alcohol addiction David, 38, was jobless for years. He has now been part of the PlaceMakers programme for seven months and will apply for a job when he leaves jail next month.
“When I was younger I just gave up when things were too hard ... Where I was sitting five or six years ago my future didn’t seem bright,
HWatch the video at nzherald.co.nz hope just wasn’t there. “[Now] I feel so proud of myself.” David, who is now free from drugs and alcohol, is determined to pursue his career with the support of the company and his family.
Fletcher Building Distribution chief executive Dean Fradgley said it was a win-win for both the company and the prisoners. He said the inmates were a talented bunch of people and valuable employees, he urged other employers to consider them.
“There’s a skills shortage all over New Zealand and we can’t build houses quickly enough. One of the most powerful gifts any person can receive is a second chance.”
The programme was started in 2015 by Serco and PlaceMakers, part of the Fletcher Building group.
Prisoners eligible for Release to Work are nearing the end of their sentence and have proven they can be trusted. They wear an electronic ankle bracelet while they are outside the prison, and there is an immediate alert if the monitor is tampered with or removed.