Breaking The Cycle: JP Concrete working with HM Prison Onley.

JP Concrete Products have just announced they have started working with HM Prison Onley to assist with the manufacturing of some of their precast concrete products.

A few months ago, HM Prison Onley got in touch with JP Concrete to see if they would be interested in supplying some concrete moulds to their workshop to be used as part of prisoners' precast concrete and forklift training and qualifications.

In response, JP Concrete offered to supply the prison with a small number of interlocking block moulds, concrete ballast block moulds and concrete barrier moulds for use in the prisoners' workshop.

Philip White at JP Concrete commented: "HM Prison Onley's effort to train up prisoners is something we really support, so we're very happy to have been asked to help. Equipping prisoners with skills which they can take away with them is a fantastic way to help them secure themselves a brighter future."

HM Prison Onley in Warwickshire is a forward-thinking facility where great emphasis is placed on preparing prisoners for finding work upon their release. In support of the government's green paper 'Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment', the prison aims to equip prisoners with valuable skills so that they may find it easier to secure employment on their release, and therefore be less likely to offend again.

Peter Middleton, head of reducing reoffending at HMP Onley, commented: "This partnership presents an opportunity for us to offer prisoners work based skills that will increase their employability upon release and help them to not only gain employment but also prevent them from reoffending. We look forward to working with JP Concrete products and developing an effective partnership."

The training is delivered in environments that reflect those of modern business, with qualified supervisors and quality control procedures in place. As part of the program, each trainee is set an individual sentence plan. This structured outline takes the prisoner through particular levels throughout their sentence, all the way through to their release. Throughout the plan, prisoners are actively encouraged to take personal responsibility for their progression through each stage and contribute to their own learning.

The areas in which HM Prison Onley are aiming to train prisoners are wide ranging, and include painting and decorating, motor mechanics, carpentry, bricklaying, kitchen work, industrial cleaning, textiles and precast concrete manufacture (as well as forklift truck operation). Onley also has an academy on site where prisoners can learn how to perform bike repairs.

JP Concrete's precast concrete moulds are now in place at HM Prison Onley and prisoners have started working with them as part of their hands-on training. Manufactured to exacting standards, the trainees are able to use these moulds to produce precast concrete products suitable for distribution to construction sites around the country.

Philip White continued: "We continue to work closely with HM Prison Onley and we're looking forward to hearing feedback on how the prisoners' training is going." For more information please see the JP Concrete website www.jpconcrete.co.uk .