OFFENDERS will be put on the path to employment from the moment they enter prison, it has been announced by the Ministry of Justice today.

The new Education and Employment strategy, revealed by Justice Secretary David Gauke, sets out new measures to improve the skills of prisoners during their time in custody to improve their chances of getting work when they are released.

Prisons and communities in Yorkshire will be some of the first areas to benefit from the new strategy.

It is hoped this new strategy will cut the £15 billion annual cost of reoffending, as ex-prisoners in employment are nine per cent less likely to commit further crime.

However, just 17 per cent of offenders are in employment a year after release at present.

The key areas the new strategy will focus on are education and training, work in custody and the availability of job opportunities on release.

Prison governors will also be given the power to tailor the training programmes available at their prisons to cater to the local labour market's needs and to provide inmates with the skills employers are looking for.

The Prisoner Apprenticeship Pathway will also provide a vocational route for training which guarantees a job on release.

Prisoners will also be encouraged more to take up prison work, and a consultation has also been started on how to get more risk-assessed prisoners into real workplaces on temporary licence.

The New Futures Network has also been set up to help prisoners find jobs on release, working with employers to generate more job opportunities.

David Gauke said: “I want prisons to be places of hope and aspiration that propel offenders into employment, and ultimately help to reduce the number of victims of crime in the future.

“I believe passionately that through work, people can turn their backs on crime and start a new chapter in their lives.

"Today’s announcement should signal to offenders that we will reward good behaviour and hard work with opportunity, and to employers that ex-offenders can make a positive contribution to their workforce, society and the economy.

“I want more employers to look past an offender’s conviction to their future potential.

"How we do that is by working more closely with employers to open their eyes to the benefits of hiring ex-offenders, but this is not just about creating a path to employment from institutions to employers, but about creating cultural change from within organisations themselves.

“I want employees, from the shop floor to the boardroom, to call out and challenge employers who turn a blind eye to attracting and representing ex-offenders in their workplace.

“Fostering that cultural change within workplaces will send a message that says: we believe in what you can contribute now and in the future, not what you have done in the past.

“And let me tell you why I believe now is the moment to seize the opportunity to do that.

“I think the public mood has changed somewhat in recognising that when an offender comes out of prison we, as a society, don’t want them to return to crime and reoffend. The public expects them to get a job and become law-abiding citizens.

“That makes good sense for society. It also makes good sense for business, in some ways, now more than ever.”

Jane Gratton, head of business environment at the British Chambers of Commerce, added: “Businesses are experiencing skills shortages at all levels in the workforce.

"We welcome this initiative, which gives an opportunity to train up offenders with those workplace skills that everyone needs to succeed.

“Providing different ways of training for those in custody will help boost the talent pool in the workforce, and enable regional economies to thrive.”