Service industries

The Department of Corrections offers trade training and qualifications in hospitality and services in thirteen of our prisons throughout New Zealand.

Hospitality

All prison sites provide internal catering services which provide three meals per day to over 10,000 prisoners.

In addition, some sites provide further catering services such as a café outside Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility in South Auckland. The café provides barista services and a selection of hot and cold food made daily to the public.

People in our care working in the kitchen at Rimutaka Prison have been given the opportunity to participate in Visa’s Wellington On a Plate, receiving training from professional chefs to present paying guests with a restaurant quality dining experience.

Hospitality qualifications are offered at:

  • Auckland Prison
  • Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility
  • Spring Hill Corrections Facility
  • Waikeria Prison
  • Tongariro Prison
  • Whanganui Prison
  • Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison
  • Manawatu Prison
  • Rimutaka Prison
  • Arohata Prison
  • Christchurch Men’s Prison
  • Otago Corrections Facility

Services

Across the country there are 11 prison-based laundries where laundry operations are carried out for all prisoners’ clothing and bedding. Contracted commercial laundry services are also provided from some prisons.

Four distribution centres across the country provide prisoner canteen services. Prisoners place orders from an approved list of items, which are then packed and delivered on a weekly basis.

Laundry and Distribution qualifications are offered at:

  • Auckland Prison
  • Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility
  • Spring Hill Corrections Facility
  • Waikeria Prison
  • Whanganui Prison
  • Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison
  • Rimutaka Prison
  • Arohata Prison
  • Christchurch Men’s Prison
  • Christchurch Women’s Prison
  • Otago Corrections Facility
  • Invercargill Prison

We offer on the job training and hands on experience in:

  • Food preparation, general kitchen duties – undertaken at all prisons
  • Food safety, including safe food handling procedures
  • Catering operations, receipt and storage of food and stock rotation
  • Tray line operations and food delivery
  • Laundry operating procedures and soiled linen management
  • Warehousing
  • Distribution
  • Operation of trolleys and forklifts.

We offer the following qualifications:

  • New Zealand Certificate in Hospitality
  • New Zealand Certificate in Cookery
  • New Zealand Certificate Food Preparation
  • New Zealand Certificate in Catering
  • Barista Skills Certificate
  • Certificate of Achievement in Hospitality
  • New Zealand Certificate in Distribution
  • New Zealand Certificate in Warehousing and Distribution
  • New Zealand Certificate in Laundry Operations

We also partner with accredited tertiary institutions to deliver quality training to prisoners.