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Welcome to the EuroPris Knowledge Management System. The table below shows questions and responses from European National Agencies. Select a question for more information or use the filters on the left to narrow down questions based on Agency or Category.
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Introduction: Social inclusion initiatives’ center (CIRE) has created a study group in order to analyze the real connection between vocational training, workshops and occupation in prison and work inclusion when release. Unfortunately, the conclusions already obtained lead us to find out better ways to connect the educational and occupational path of inmates in prison to be able to succeed when these inmates are reaching the labor market. We are also wondering whether may be better to diversify the kind of occupations and workshops or either focus on specialized workshops. In Catalonia, we can find workshops for own-production: wood and metal workshops, printing office, dress-making and laundry cleaning; where production is focused mainly on products for the prisons and other governmental organizations. We manage workshops for external contractors where production is made for external companies: uniforms, electrical components assembly, waste bags, linens, car components, welding, furniture of all kind, cushions, sunshades, assembly of pens. Finally, we also manage household services: detainees are also paid to work inside the prison in the laundry, kitchen, bakery and on the shops that are found on each unit where inmates can buy their own products different from the ones provided. Taking these into account, I kindly ask for your cooperation in answering the following two questions:
It is difficult to answer because we depend on the external offer. However, education and training based on capacities can be a good way to develope ocupational flexibility for inmates.
What are the kind of workshops can be found in the prisons of your country?Similar as the ones in Cataluña.
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For ex-offenders to better reintegrate into labour market, the future of workshops in prison is linked to diversification
What are the kind of workshops can be found in the prisons of your country?A State Enterprise with diversified range of activities operates at the Lithuanian prisons. Its workshops specialize in furniture and wood products, production of non-standard, metal, seasonal products, cast iron moulding, provision of services (laundry, sewing, weaving, cooking)
The future of workshops in Latvian prisons is closely related to the prison infrastructure possibilities. When planning the new prison infrastructure, several large premises are envisaged which could be adapted to the employment needs of prisoners, also for creating workshops. At present, the Latvian legislation does not provide the possibility for LPA to receive a state order for the production of certain types of products in prison. LPA and its structural units, in this case – prisons, do not have the right to perform commercial activities. A company can apply for a public order by participating in an announced tender. The works related to laundry, minor repairs, food distribution or cooking etc. is performed by inmates working in the facility management. The products, materials and services necessary for the operation of prisons, are provided from an outsourcing service by organizing appropriate public procurements.
What are the kind of workshops can be found in the prisons of your country?Non-formal or interest education programs (paper plastic classes, fine arts studio, handicraft studio, decoupage classes, production of artistic and applied arts (woodworking)) are implemented in the workshops established in prisons. The products made in these workshops are not sold, but may be donated to the child or elderly care centers or given to relatives and friends by the prisoner. Also, prisoners take part in various exhibitions with their works. In the framework of the European Social Fund (ESF) projects, it is planned to establish creative workshops for the development of work skills in prisons, by purchasing appropriate equipment and materials in 2020, as well as involving non-governmental organizations or volunteers in the implementation of non-formal and informal educational programs. It is planned to implement the following work skills development programs: In Jelgava prison: • Painting and drawing workshop; • Wood carving; • Handicrafts (sewing (embroidery, rag dolls, patchwork etc.), knitting, crocheting, beading, decoupage, macramé, felting, paper techniques (quilling, cards, “papier maché”) (inmates serving the life sentence). In Daugavgriva prison: • Painting, graphics; • Wood carving; • Handicrafts (sewing, making dolls, knitting, crocheting, origami, gift making (inmates serving the life sentence)). In Jekabpils prison: • Painting, graphics; • Woodworking. In Riga Central Prison: • Painting, graphics. In Olaine prison (Latvian Prison Hospital) Center of Addicts: • Handicrafts; • Leather works and production of key rings from natural materials. In Olaine prison (Latvian Prison Hospital) Open Unit: • Handicrafts; • Leather works and production of key rings from natural materials. In Olaine prison (Latvian Prison Hospital) Closed Unit: • Leather works and production of key rings from natural materials. In Cesis Correctional Institution for Juveniles: • Woodworking; • Handicrafts. In Liepaja prison: • Woodworking (wood carving, toys, making the bird cages, road sign making, puzzles etc.); • Handicrafts (making soft toys and gifts, quilling, paperwork etc.) + sewing skills. In Ilguciema prison: • Handicrafts; • Photography. In Valmiera prison: • Handicraft studio “Jewelry Workshop”; • Music studio “Guitar playing and Co”.
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Based on our experience and knowledge, we think that the workshops of inmates should be diversified. When employing the inmates, the Corps of Prison and Court Guard tries to use their qualification and personal preconditions and this can be successfully implemented for a larger group of convicts only at diversified workshops. In specialised production, there is a problem with ensuring the required number of convicts with relevant qualification and there are also other risks. For example, if there is an excess of manufactured products or specialised production on the market or the market is temporarily not interested in the products, a very large group of convicts will lose the job and it takes a very long time to secure them a different production program. This risk is in diversified production largely eliminated; inmates can be flexibly transferred to another workplaces after a short training.
What are the kind of workshops can be found in the prisons of your country?Inmates in Slovakia are included to work in the internal operation of prisons and in the correctional industries. In the internal operation, the inmates carry out works connected to ensuring the operation of prisons (e.g. in kitchens, laundries, storages, car repair shops and others) – inmates are included to work as auxiliary cooks, water station workers, plumbers, dressmakers, bricklayers, painters - decorators, carpenters, tinsmiths, locksmiths, car mechanics, electricians, barbers, cleaners, etc. In the correctional industries, the inmates manufacture products for the needs of the prison service or other public administration bodies and private sector (e.g. textile products, clothing for prison staff, clothing for inmates, socks, underwear, work clothes, bed sheets and bed clothes, furniture, agricultural products - bread, pastries, vegetables, fruits, pork and mutton meat). Additional working opportunities for inmates are obtained within the correctional industries by providing works and services to other legal and physical persons at their workplaces. The range of works and services provided by the prison service though the employment of inmates is very various and includes e.g. assembly and disassembly works, shoe stitching, disassembly of electrical components, sorting of secondary raw materials, cleaning, assembly of car components, works in building industry, forestry, engineering, wood processing industry, agriculture, food industry and other place of business. Inmates carry out these works inside of prisons or outside of them, in the companies or at the premises owned by the contracting authority/ customer.
In the Netherlands most prisoners (90%) stay less then a year inside. Therefore we train them the skills to be a good employee, not a craftsmanship. We diversify our work and for the longstayers we have more interesting work with vocational training facilities.
What are the kind of workshops can be found in the prisons of your country?We work for the government (15%) and for external contractore (85%). You can see what we do in the attached documents.
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In Estonia prison workshops are operated by a state-owened Estonian Prison Industry ltd that does not receive exclusive purchase orders or direct procurements from public sector, and therefore has to organise prisoner production work in accordance with market needs. Besides being market driven, the benefit of a state-owened ltd company is that its work culture is similar to the etnerprises oprating outside the prison, so it developes prisoners’ sustainable social skills and work habits that are necessary for an open labour market work. The share administrator of the Estonian Prison Industry ltd is the Minister of Justice who determines the strategic goals of the company: a certain number of prisoners in each prison to be occupied with skilled work and a lesser number of prisoners to be occupied with unskilled work. In short, Estonian prison workshops are market driven and the main strategic goal is to offer skilled employment in a normal workplace culture. Vocational courses of metal- and woodwork are carried out by an outside vocational educational institutions, and whereas theoretical knowledge training is carried out by the vocational school, the work practice module is organised by the Estonian Prison Industry ltd. Such a cooperation is based on a contract between the vocational education institution and the Estonian Prison Industry ltd.
What are the kind of workshops can be found in the prisons of your country?Sewing, metalwork, woodwork, powder painting, shot blasting, laundry and packaging workshops.
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The Austrian Prison service assumes that it will continue to be necessary to offer inmates both specialized and diversified workshops. On the one hand, this should create qualification opportunities (vocational training) and on the other hand, it should be possible to employ as many inmates as possible.
What are the kind of workshops can be found in the prisons of your country?The Austrian prisons offer employment opportunities similar to those described in the Catalan prisons. These are especially the classic workshops in the metal and wood sector. This is where most of the training places for vocational apprentices are located. In addition to their own organization, private individuals and companies are also clients. Other institutions such as kitchens, bakeries, laundries, etc. serve to maintain the prison system. In addition, some of these entities offer their services as partners for other companies. In addition to the classical work trough apprenticeship training, a range of other training opportunities is also offered. These range from school education to computer courses, driver's licenses (driver's license, forklift licence) and university degrees. This offer of employment is completed by companies which offer therapeutic employment for intellectually or physically very little resilient inmates.
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In the future, the goal is to increase the cooperation with cooperatives and external companies to encourage and develop work/training opportunities for prisoners. There are still few companies/cooperatives that use labor of prisoners. This is due to the small physical spaces of the penitentiary facilities (especially the older ones) to be allocated to activities and productions of a certain level, limits linked to safety requirements (controls on vehicles, on raw materials, on people who access etc). Then there is no certainty regarding the working hours and the presence of workers (often those who work are absent for interviews, hearings or are transferred) and finally, the turn-over of the prison population can lead to the loss of reliable persons or of those who have been trained. In addition, the fact that the wages of prisoners are very similar in the amount to those paid to free workers, such measure that was intended as a guarantee and favorable to prisoners, has, in fact, made prison work no longer competitive, thus diminishing the interests of external entrepreneurs. Therefore the company does not feel able to guarantee delivery times. All this suggests that in order to make penitentiary work attractive, a policy of reducing labor costs is not enough (Smuraglia law of 2 June 2000 n.193), but strong safeguards on the professionalism and reliability of the labor force are needed, as well as wide guarantees on the managerial independence of the workshops. So the real question is linked more than to the choice between diversified and / or specialized workshop to the creation of structural and organizational conditions that make the use of the manpower attractive to external firms.
What are the kind of workshops can be found in the prisons of your country?There is the intramural work (inside prison walls) and the extramural work (outside prison). The first category includes both labor force employed by the prison administration and that employed by third parties. For the administration there are, three types of activities : 1) manufactures for the administration contracting companies, namely the production of what you need for all prisons such as clothing, kit, tailoring weaving shop, carpentry. 2) the works of the colonies and agricultural estates close to the detention areas; 3) the domestic work , or institutional services ( cooks, laundry workers ), ordinary maintenance services of buildings assigned to inmates with particular qualifications also acquired during the period of imprisonment (electricians, plumbers). Intramural work employed by third parties mostly concerns social cooperatives or even companies that enter into agreements with the prison administration. There is also work outside the prison regulated by art. 21 of Prison Law. Not everyone can be admitted: the procedure involves the prison governor and the supervisory judge, moreover there are particular requirements for the time of imprisonment and for crimes committed. For example, community works fall into this category of work . There are many cooperatives that enter prison. There are those working in the food sector, in agriculture, in the repair of everyday tools, confectionery workshops, for the commercialization of coffee, wineries, workshops of serigraphy, cosmetics workshops . Then there are manufactures that require special technical skills that are those of assembling electronic and mechanical components, call center activities, working activities related to data entry services and document dematerialization. Other inmates working in cake shops, bakeries and pizzerias activities which are for the most part managed by external parties.