PRISONERS AT at HMP Five Wells near Wellingborough are taking advantage of industry training programmes to gain qualifications and boost their employment prospects after their release.
Environmental waste management company Bakers Environmental Solutions has opened a dedicated workspace at the prison, the UK’s first purpose-built such resettlement centre.
Offenders segregate materials for recycling instead of being sent to landfill. They learn skills at the Bakers InsideOut Academy by using general tools and machinery such as compactors and balers. Any profit made by the company is pumped back into the prison to fund further training programmes.
Paul Cunningham, business enterprise and community manager at HMP Five Wells, said: “We are committed to helping the men in our care to be work ready when they are released from custody. Working with Bakers ensures that the men have the required skills and understanding of an industry that is very much in demand and is likely to continue to grow as people are now becoming more aware of the need to recycle.”
HMP Five Wells is operated by GS4 and opened in February 2022 It has a total 16 classrooms and 24 workshops where offenders learn new skills and gain qualifications. Every offender chosen to join the training programmes undergoes a thorough screening process supervised by G4S prison staff who have completed the necessary training on Bakers’ recycling machinery.
Bakers also provides job opportunities to offenders on their release.
Managing director Paul Baker pictured above with Mr Cunningham said the Bakers InsideOut Academy had been devised to kickstart a new socially responsible era for prisons and businesses alike.
“Through mentorship, education, scholarship, and a collective people-first approach, local and national business communities can offer the support our prison systems need,” he added. “Together we can enhance our economy by creating employment opportunities, building personal development programmes and reducing our carbon footprint.”
