Prisoners’ Education Trust’s response to the Ministry of Justice’s Education and Employment Strategy

24 May 2018

Today the Ministry of Justice will be launching a new Education and Employment Strategy. In response, Chief Executive Rod Clark has said:

Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET) welcomes today’s Education & Employment Strategy which sets out a commitment to improving prisoners’ chances of gaining work after release by boosting their skills and incentivising employers. We know that education and employment after release both reduce the chance someone will go on to commit another crime. The fact that only 17% of prisoners are in work a year after release shows more needs to be done.

Giving governors greater control over prison education, making more use of day release and incentivising employers through a National Insurance holiday are all important steps to transform prisoners’ lives and help them contribute to their families and communities.

However in order to work, this strategy must be backed up by the necessary financial investment. Prisoners must also have careers advice and access to technology in order to develop the digital skills nearly all jobs these days require.

Notes to Editors

• For interviews or further information please call Katy Oglethorpe (PET), Media and Communications Manager on 0791 2161 536.
• Since 1989, PET has supported prisoners to engage in rehabilitation through learning. The charity does this by providing advice and funding for around 3,000 people per year for courses in subjects and levels not generally available in prisons. PET also carries out research, informed by prisoner learners, to improve prison education policies.
• Research by the MoJ shows that prisoners helped by PET are 25% less likely to reoffend than a matched control group.