CHANGING PATHS

Changing Paths has been set up to meet this need by providing the ex-offender with the knowledge and skills training to set them on the pathway to employment in the construction industry and its supply chains. The intention is that Changing Paths will establish itself as a route of choice out of re-offending for those in the prison population with a genuine desire to change their life prospects on release. Why it is important to make a difference --- It costs the taxpayer in the region of £150, 000 to build every prison cell and between £38, 000 and £41, 000 each year – rising to as much as £178, 000 for a secure training centre – to keep an offenders incarcerated. These figures do not include transport costs to and from prison or the costs associated with courts, appeals or other criminal justice sector infrastructure.

However, Ministry of Justice figures indicate that 58% of adult male prisoners and 70%+ of young adults re-offend within two years of release, while the England & Wates prison population is forecast to rise to 100, 000 by 2012. Practice shows that securing employment at the earliest possible opportunity is one of the biggest incentives not to re-offend, but for many offenders this is not an option as they have low levels of educational attainment and few if any skills. This said skills training backed by appropriate levels of literacy and numeracy education are insufficient in themselves to act as an incentive to an offender on release not to re-offend.

Training for employment devalues the commitment to the training if a path to employment is not part of the overall formula along with through the gate support for related issues such as accommodation, setting up bank accounts, obtaining National Insurance numbers and other seemingly easy tasks. Changing Paths aims to provide through its commercial and charitable partners a holistic package focused on skills training and gateways to employment to help offenders establish themselves once released.