Features / University of the West of England (UWE)
Changing the futures of Bristol’s prisoners
Statistically, prisoners have often found it difficult to engage with the education system.
Over 40 per cent of prisoners have been excluded from schools and over half have the reading age of an 11-year-old.
A new scheme aims to tackle this by boosting employment opportunities for prisoners.
UWE Bristol have teamed up with skills and training provider PeoplePlus to create a scheme that gives ex-offenders hope for a better future.
PeoplePlus provides prison education and training by means of an in-cell television in 75 prisons in the UK, which has seen the likes of Stephen Fry, Ashley Walters and Fred Sirieix contribute in the past to discuss their own employment experiences on it’s television channel.
PeoplePlus’s Way2Learn courses are designed so that prisoners can learn at their own pace.
The scheme covers everything from setting up a business, digital workplace skills, health and safety, and construction, environment, warehousing and storage.
Those that successfully complete the courses designed by PeoplePlus receive a life-long digital credential badge.
When employers click on the digital badge, they will be able to see a trusted source of verification, backed by rigorous standards and quality assurance provided by UWE Bristol.
UWE Bristol and PeoplePlus hopes the new digital badge will offer ex-offenders more opportunities of employment as it certifies the presence of important skillsets and education.
“I’m delighted to be partnering with UWE Bristol. Having accessible engaging learning content is really important,” said Jezz Wright, head of digital learning and strategy at PeoplePlus.
“Often, we find this really works well for the prisoners we are supporting who feel anxious about the traditional classroom setting as a way of learning. UWE Bristol is the perfect partner to help them learn through our Way2Learn content whilst being able to demonstrate quality learning through our new digital badge,” he continued.
Main photo credit: UWE, PeoplePlus, Wayout TV
Read more: Breaking free from the stigma of prison
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