Former HMP Ford prisoner Mo has found work as a gateman with Wates Residential
Wates is looking at placing more prisoners in paid work on its construction sites across London and the South after a successful pilot scheme.
Wates has been supporting prisoners in the last 18 months of their sentence under the Brighter Pathways programme, in partnership with recruitment supplier One Way and HMP Ford in West Sussex.
The prison is close to where Wates Residential is currently undertaking regeneration work to the river wall at Free Wharf in Shoreham in partnership with Southern Housing Group to make way for over 500 new waterfront homes.
Wates said the new scheme was helping individuals to return to the community and reduce reoffending.
Adults released from custodial sentences of less than 12 months between July to September 2017 had a proven reoffending rate of 62.2% over a 12-month follow-up period. But at HMP Ford, their reoffending rate is 9% due to the rehabilitation services and work programmes that are available in the area.
The construction industry faces the twin challenges of an ageing workforce and poor talent pipeline. Figures from The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) highlight that the industry will need to find 157,000 new recruits by 2021 to keep up with demand.
Paul Nicholls, managing director for Wates Residential, said: “Everyone deserves a second chance and the Brighter Futures programme offers a real opportunity for ex-offenders to access sustainable training employment opportunities to support their rehabilitation back into the community and set them up for the future. It also makes real business sense to recruit from a wider talent pool if we are to remain fit for the future and address the industry’s widening skills gap.”
Mo’s story
Under the Brighter Pathways programme, the prison identified a possible candidate for a job on Wates Residential’s site in Shoreham as a gateman and vehicle and machinery traffic marshall.
The first individual to secure work through the scheme, Mo, was relocated to HMP Ford’s open prison in West Sussex just over a year ago. He applied for a job and started work in April 2019. Before beginning on site, Mo completed checks with the local authority and probation service, in addition to health and safety checks, a fit to travel medical and a number of risk assessments. He has since been upskilled to become a plant machinery marshall and has been offered a permanent position as a gateman for the Shoreham site.
Mo said: “I can’t believe I have been given this fantastic opportunity with Wates Residential and One Way. The day I was told that I had been successful, I just kept smiling. I have been given a second chance to turn my life around and this opportunity will really help me to get my life back on track so that I can make my mum proud of me again.
“I feel lucky to have two companies believe in me enough to give me another chance and to invest in training me. I am excited for my future, working in construction and staying out of prison.”
