Highly Commended

Congratulations to Fulton Hogan for being highly commended in November 2008 at the Equal Employment Opportunities Trusts’ annual work-and-life awards!

Fulton Hogan has provided employment for prisoners since September 2007 with most working on the Mt Roskill Auckland extension to State Highway 20. The partnership according to Fulton Hogan has helped solve a staff shortage while assisting prisoners in the transition between prison and independent life.
 
Prisoners on the Release to Work programme are low security prisoners who are nearing their parole eligibility date and meet certain criteria. The safety of the community is paramount and factors taken into consideration before a prisoner is placed into employment include proximity to victims, nature of the offence and escape history.

Before starting work on the Release to Work programme for Fulton Hogan prisoners complete three weeks of training with InfraTrain. The course teaches basic principles on a road construction site and covers topics such as traffic management, health and safety, equipment maintenance and first aid.

Sections from the submission made by Fulton Hogan: 
“Fulton Hogan is committed to working with and within its communities. The company saw the partnership as simply an extension of its role as a good local employer, extending opportunities to people in the areas it works.”

“We’ve found that all prisoners have been willing to work and are keen to learn and progress. They’ve been better than the typical worker coming through the various temp agencies. Some of these guys have been high-calibre.”

“One (prisoner) was so impressive that he was promoted to foreman. Another has enrolled in a graduate programme which will qualify him as an engineer. A third has landed a full-time position with the Fulton Hogan Northern Civil Branch.”

“When considering a Release to Work programme companies are advised to keep an open mind. There’s a lot of stigma about people who do crime. But I come from the angle that if you do the crime, you do the time – you pay your dues to society.

"I don’t see that people should be stigmatised forever because they have erred. As a company you want to get the job done. If you have someone who can do the job, it really shouldn’t matter where they’ve been.”