Hawke's Bay Prisoners Graduate with New Skills

4 July 2012

Months of hard work has paid off for prisoners from Hawke’s Bay Prison.  Fifteen prisoners have received their certificates for completing a National Certificate in Forestry Foundation Skills Level 2, and twelve for National Certificate in Building Construction and Allied Trade Skills (BCATS) Level 2.

A graduation ceremony was held to acknowledge the work done by both the prisoners and instructors.

Graham Hardisty, Forest Manager, Corrections Inmate Employment, says that for the majority of the prisoners this is the first time they have achieved any form of qualification.

“The acknowledgement from the prisoners at graduation is testament to the instructors rapport with them and their ability to impart their knowledge in a way that the prisoners can understand and retain what they learn.”

Forestry training is carried out using Forestry Industry Training based unit standards and assessments. The forestry qualification provides the fundamental requirements for an employee to work within the forest industry.

Prisoners gain the necessary theoretical knowledge, as well as the work experience required to make them valuable employees. The qualification can lead to work in sawmills, wood manufacturing and wood processing amongst other areas.

The BCATS qualification is both theory and practical unit standards associated with Building Construction and Allied Trades. The theory unit standards cover Health and Safety, Safe Work Practices, Interpreting Plans and Drawings, and Application of Mathematical processes. The practical unit standards cover the use of carpentry hand tools and power tools which in turn are used to make oil stone boxes and saw stools.

The 16 week course is targeted at high/medium security prisoners and consists of 10 unit standards totalling 41 credits. The training programme is run with the support of WELTEC who carry out NZQA processing and moderation.

Training such as this prepares prisoners to be work-ready upon release. The Department aims to provide quality employment activities, the opportunity to attain recognised qualifications, and more vocational training and on-the-job experience. These are important contributions to achieving Department’s overall goal of reducing re-offending by 25% by 2017. 

Cutting the rates of re-offending leaves fewer victims and adds significantly to the social well-being of our communities as offenders become productive members of our society.

For further information contact the Communications Services Desk:

Phone: (04) 460 3365 
Email: commdesk@corrections.govt.nz