The first 20 week prison-based Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec) course has been delivered at Rimutaka Prison.
“At the end of 2008 10 prisoners finished with credits towards a National Certificate in Painting; 13 prisoners earned credits towards a National Certificate in Motor Industry. Both are Level 2,” says CIE Area Operations Manager Kathleen Masoe.
These prisoners will have the opportunity to put the skills they have gained into practice if they meet the requirements to join work parties.
For example, the prisoners who have studied painting may be able to join the painting work party at the prison which helps to maintain the facility. The other prisoners may have the opportunity to join the farm work party and maintain small farming equipment – depending on their security classification.
These are the first WelTec courses that have been run inside a prison and we are looking forward to continuing this partnership, with courses scheduled for three years. We are even expanding the courses to include the Building, Construction & Allied Trades Level 2 Carpentry qualification.
CIE News welcomes your feedback. Please email feedback or story ideas to commdesk@corrections.govt.nz or phone 04 460 3365.
For more information about CIE or how you can become involved with CIE, please call 04 470 8494 or email cieworktraining@corrections.govt.nz.
ISSN 1174-2909