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Welcome to the Government’s offender skills and employment site. This site provides information on Government policy for the general public, journalists and researchers and signposts further sources of information.
Offender skills and employment is a key contributor to the Government's Skills for Life and Skills Strategies and a central part of the Ministry of Justice's action plan to reduce re-offending.
Re-Offending is costly to society, both in economic and social terms. A re-offending former prisoner costs on average £65,000 to re-imprison, and £40,000 a year whilst they are in prison. While punishment will always be a primary aim of the criminal justice system, the Government is determined to do more to turn offenders away from crime and into work, improving their skills, and encouraging them to lead productive lives.
Offenders Skills and Employment Latest
The Prime Minister has announced that three new departments have been set up in place of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The new organisations are:
- the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS)
- the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)
- and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR)
The DIUS is responsible for adult learning, further and higher education, skills, science and innovation – work previously looked after by both DfES and DTI. The Offenders Learning and Skills policy for adult offenders now falls under the remit of the DIUS. School Age Offender policy and Youth Justice is now the responsibility of the DCSF.
A list of the new Departments’ responsibilities can be found on the No 10 Website
OLSU announce test bed regions
On the 17th May 2007 two test bed regions were formally announced by Phil Hope at the Offenders’ Learning, Skills and Employability 2007 conference.
In partnership with the Home Office, the Youth Justice Board and the Learning and Skills Council, the Department published a consultation on ‘Education for Young People in the Youth Justice System’. The consultation explored the issues affecting education for young offenders and follows our commitment in Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment: Next Steps (December 2006) to improve the education experience of young people supervised by the youth justice system.