ePolitix.com speaks to Alan Woods, chief executive of Skills for Justice, about the importance of workforce modernisation in the justice sector and the upcoming Skills Summit in April.
Question: Can you tell us about your organisation. What are you main objectives?
Alan Woods: Skills for Justice is the sector skills council for employers across the UK who work to create and sustain safer communities. That includes the police, fire and rescue services, prisons, probation and all those working with the victims, survivors and witnesses of crime. We have two main objectives: to help ensure that everyone in the justice workforce has the right skills, knowledge and understanding to deliver a first class service, and to influence justice and skills policies across the UK so that they take account of the skills needs of those working in justice.
Question: Which bodies do you work with and how do you support them?
Alan Woods: When you think of the justice sector you might think of big public sector organisations, but actually we work with small and large employers across the public, private and third sectors.
We cover the whole of the UK, and work with police forces, fire and rescue services, courts and tribunals, prosecutions, community justice, probation services, forensic science, custodial care and those working with children and young people in the justice sector. We work with a lot of third sector employers, who are mostly involved in supporting the victims, witnesses and survivors of crime, and in the rehabilitation of offenders.
We help employers understand their current and future skills needs. And we support them with products and services which will help them develop the skills of their workforce. Our services include development of national occupational standards, new qualifications development and tailored HR tools, backed up with support from expert teams who really know the sector. We also help our employers to understand and take advantage of what is on offer through the skills system – for example through Train to Gain or apprenticeships.
Question: How can a skilled workforce aid in reforming the criminal justice system?
Alan Woods: People working in the justice sector do a vital job – building and maintaining a safe and secure society. I believe that investing in the talent of people to ensure they have the right skills, at the right place and at the right time, means the justice system is responsive, efficient and delivers the effective interventions. This can have a huge impact on social mobility issues, and key areas of reoffending, resettlement and anti-social behaviour.
Question: Does the justice sector workforce need to be modernised, and if so why?
Alan Woods: The sector has undertaken change programmes on a large scale in many areas over the last decade in policing and, more recently with the advent of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), in probation and prisons. Significant modernisation of the workforce is underway across much of the justice sector, and has already delivered benefit to society.
I have no doubt that the sector will now be expected to make greater efficiency gains with reduced budgets. There will be no let up on the need to work more closely together, both within the justice sector and beyond, with other sectors such as health and social care. The changing social pressures of the 21st century – such as anxiety about youth crime, increasing issues with mental health, and concerns over radicalisation – will bring challenges, as will the social impact of the economic downturn. The sector needs to be flexible and adaptive to change, and to move quickly, assessing risk, rather than being cautious and 'risk averse'.
Question: In what way does Skills for Justice help organisations to modernise their workforces?
Alan Woods: We have recently taken on fire and rescue services across the UK, expanding our remit further in the area of developing skills for safer communities. We're working with them on the role of fire and rescue in crime prevention as well as the need for a joined up approach to emergency response.
I am very keen to work with our employers on ensuring that they can attract and retain a workforce that mirrors the communities they serve. Greater use of apprenticeships is just one way that we can help employers to increase diversity and create new routes into careers in justice.
Question: In what ways can organisations in the justice sector help themselves to survive in the economic downturn?
Alan Woods: Continuing to invest in the skills of the workforce through the downturn is just as important in the justice sector as it is in any other. The largest and most vital resource that most employers have is their people and they need to work smarter, and plan for the future through investment in their people. Our sector is a mixture of public, private and third sector organisations, and they will all feel the pain of recession in different ways, but our message to them is simple – investment in workforce skills increases effectiveness and enables you to deliver in tough economic times. In essence, now is the time to train.
Public sector investment in learning and development also has a crucial role to play in maintaining skills and employability through the recession. For example, the private sector may struggle in the short term to deliver high volumes of apprenticeship places. There is scope for public sector employers to step in and offer a higher number of apprenticeships, in the expectation that some individuals will move across to the private sector as recovery kicks in. Equally, we know that government is looking to volunteering as a way of helping people who have lost their jobs to re-skill and keep motivated.
More broadly, the delivery of public services is vital in the recession, supporting individuals and providing a climate in which businesses can grow and flourish. The justice sector is responsible for ensuring that people feel that they are safe in their communities, and that they will be dealt with fairly and efficiently. The importance of that role in a likely climate of increasing crime and heightened social tensions cannot be overestimated.
Question: What skills are required for an effective 21st century justice sector?
Alan Woods: The sector needs to move to respond to 21st century challenges – there has been a move over recent years to a greater focus on performance and efficiency, although the bureaucracy of performance management needs to be avoided. Reductions in budgets or funding means that the sector needs to do more with less, still delivering a high quality service but in financially constrained circumstances. We are working with employers to ensure that managers and budget holders are highly skilled change management experts, and that those on the front line are able to provide a high quality customer focused service, meeting budgets and targets, as well as the needs of society.
Question: Skills for Justice is holding a skills summit in April. What do you hope the summit will achieve?
Alan Woods: Next week we are hosting our 5th annual conference – Skills Summit 09, the focus of which is on 'Working Together, Developing People'. It will serve to highlight some of the excellent work that we have undertaken with employers in the sector, and to provide a forward look on the challenges ahead. We hope to engage even more people in our work, and are running a series of workshops at the event that will provoke new ideas and debate in the sector, as well as highlight potential solutions to challenges.
