Press Release

Government backs multi-million pound skills boost for justice employers

Thursday, July 31 2008

A £70million agreement to pave the way for over 70,000 new qualifications and around 700 new apprenticeships for people working in the Justice Sector has today been announced by the Rt Hon John Denham MP, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities & Skills.

The agreement, between Skills for Justice, the Learning & Skills Council and the Government, will be funded through the Government's 'Train to Gain' training programme, alongside investment from employers in the Justice Sector. Over the next three years it will see thousands of people working in prisons, policing, probation, courts and youth justice in England get the chance to further develop their skills and achieve nationally recognised qualifications.

Skills Secretary John Denham said: "The people working in the justice sector make an immense contribution to society, and it is right that they should have access to high-quality training and development opportunities, delivered when and where they are needed.  

"Furthermore, this agreement will ensure that through dedicated Government support and an expanded apprenticeships programme, the sector will be well placed to attract, train and retain a world-class workforce."

Workforce development is a key priority within the Justice Sector, and this new agreement is great news for the 350,000 people working in Justice in England. The new agreement will fund thousands of new learning opportunities for them.

Almost 700 new apprenticeship places will be made available, 190 of those within the field of Community Justice, creating opportunities for people to work with those experiencing substance misuse or alcohol dependency problems. Thousands of NVQs will also be made available, in areas such as leadership and management and intelligence analysis.

Alan Woods OBE, CEO of Skills for Justice, said: "We are delighted to be amongst the first Sector Skills Councils to work in partnership with DIUS and the LSC on this innovative and ground-breaking Compact agreement.  People working in the Justice Sector do a vital job.

"Their work affects the quality of life, sense of well-being and security of people across communities, and the existence of a safer society is crucial to our national, regional and local economies.  Building on existing employer investment, the Compact will help the sector continue to ensure its workforce has the skills it needs to deliver quality effective services.

"The Compact means that over £70 million of funding will be made available to deliver over 70,000 qualifications to both employees and volunteers working in the Justice sector. It also means that tailored qualifications can be developed which enable people to benefit from significant opportunities to further develop their skills.

"The Compact supports our vision of ensuring we deliver a world-class skills agenda to the UK Justice sector, thus helping to achieve a safer society for all."

The Prison Service is one of the many organisations whose employees will be able to benefit from the new agreement, as Robin Wilkinson, Director of HR at the National Offender Management Service explains: "The Compact signifies a huge investment in skills training across the Justice sector and gives all our staff further opportunity to access a wide range of accredited courses from training providers across the country.

"It is a significant addition to our own existing training programmes for staff and we are actively working with individual prisons to make sure they take full advantage of this investment."

Mark Haysom, Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council, said: "The skills of all employees in this sector are critical to the delivery of public services and the LSC is pleased to support the development of skills in the Justice sector through Train to Gain.

"The compact is an important step forward in the LSC’s work with employers in the public sector and we look forward to a successful partnership which increases the demand for skills."