Prisoners being released early are woefully underprepared to work

Getting offenders into stable employment is one of the surest ways to drive down recidivism

As over 1,700 prisoners were released early to tackle overcrowding, attention focused on those who were met with a celebratory shower of sparkling wine as they stepped out of jail. 
Yet not everyone was in such a jubilant mood: one ex-prisoner said he would be sleeping on a park bench that night, predicting that he will “no doubt start drinking and then I’ll come back”. 
The prison crisis in this country is a big problem. Days before the inmates were released, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures showed that the prison population hit a record high of 88,521. 
Prisons are forecast to run out of space again in as little as nine months. More than 12.5m people in the UK have a criminal record, while around 12,000 current prisoners are offenders who have been recalled back to jail. 
One of the best ways to stop reoffending is employment. When I visited the HM Prison Highpoint in Suffolk earlier this year, I met a group of inmates who were busy fixing and assembling dummy train tracks in the rain as they prepared for life on the outside. 
There was also a room full of power plugs ready for prisoners to start an electrician course, while others nearby were busy fixing broken IT equipment for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) headquarters. 
Forklift truck driving, gardening, furniture painting and even traffic marshalling were among the other classes on offer. Those who refused to take part in any training or education had perks removed, such as their TVs.
The efforts should be applauded. However, there are some major obstacles in these rehabilitation plans that clearly need to be acknowledged. The reality is that many prisoners, and especially those suddenly being released early, are woefully underprepared for work. 
Teaching prisoners skills is just one part of the puzzle. Age, experience, addictions, literacy rates and mental health can all also play a part in keeping former convicts out of jobs. Those involved in prison reform also say that, anecdotally, the majority of prison workshops fail to equip prisoners with the actual skills that suit real-world employment. 
Rather than empowering them to solve problems and deal with people, inmates are instead encouraged to do “mindless tasks”. 
The proportion of former prisoners in P45 employment one year after release is just 17pc. Max Dubiel, the co-founder of Redemption Roasters, which looks to rehabilitate prisoners by providing barista training and employment, argues that the small number of ex-prisoners in employment a year after release “underscores the system’s failure to prepare individuals for meaningful work”. 
Britain’s prison population has climbed 93pc since 1990, according to MoJ data, and is expected to rise to 106,300 by March 2027. These figures should underline the fact that rehabilitation needs to be fixed urgently. Releasing prisoners early with no preparation for work is a short-term solution to overcrowding.
Unfortunately, efforts to train prisoners up for work continue to falter. Redemption Roasters had its contract to roast coffee beans, and teach inmates at The Mount prison in Hertfordshire the necessary skills in the process, axed this month.
“[The MoJ] highlights post-release employment as a priority, [but] this is not being reflected in middle management,” says Dubiel.
The appointment of new prisons minister James Timpson, the former chief executive of key-cutters Timpson, gives some hope for change. Timpson, the company is one of the largest employers of ex-offenders in the UK, with around one in ten staff having a conviction. 
James Timpson already has a history of working on rehabilitation projects, spearheading efforts to put employment advisory hubs in jails. This programme has doubled the number of ex-offenders finding work within six months of leaving prison since 2021. 
Timpson, the minister, is now focused on tackling the £18bn annual cost of reoffending, but he will know that a real solution needs to involve much more than jobs hubs and training workshops. 
Even the recent push to urge big businesses to hire inmates – KPMG this year became the first white-collar business to take on ex-offenders through a scheme with the MoJ – won’t scratch the surface. 
As Jo Easton, the policy chief of charity Unlock, puts it, some people are being released who are just “not in a healthy space to go into work”. Many have lots of complex issues that must be addressed – from addiction problems to insecure housing to mental health struggles – before they are in a fit state to work. 
Age is another factor that is often ignored. Easton points out that someone coming out of prison at 21 might find it easier to get a job than an elderly prisoner who has twenty years of experience in a role that may have become obsolete while they’ve been inside, or in an industry that has moved on significantly while they’ve been away.
Easton says that employers who hire ex-offenders often say that they’re the most loyal workers. However, this makes her “uncomfortable” because she hears from the other side that these people feel stuck because nobody else will give them a chance. Employers happy to accept someone with a criminal record are often only comfortable doing so at an entry-level, she points out. 
Few may have sympathy for former prisoners not liking their jobs, but if joblessness or lack of career progression results in more crime, more ill-health or more ex-offenders going back to jail, then it affects everyone. 
An MoJ spokesman said the Government has inherited prisons in crisis and is “determined [to ensure that] the criminal justice system creates better citizens, not better criminals”. 
Everyone should take an interest in fixing the problem. If prisoners enter a system that doesn’t work for them, then they are more likely to commit more crimes of which anyone could be a victim, end up back in prison or develop mental health issues – both of which will put more burden on stretched public services. 
Keeping people out of prison is not just the right thing to do for former offenders, but for everyone.