❓ Mr Punch inquires about the role of 125 vocational support officer positions in WA prisons in providing employment opportunities and supporting prisoner rehabilitation post-COVID-19. The Minister details the initiative's success in attracting skilled tradespeople to the prison system to enhance prisoner skills and reintegration.
AnsweredQoN 451Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PRISONS —
VOCATIONAL SUPPORT OFFICERS
451. Mr
D.T. PUNCH to the Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the significant impact
that COVID-19 has had on employment opportunities across Western Australia.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the provision of 125 vocational support
officer positions within WA prisons will
provide more employment opportunities as the economy begins to recover from
COVID-19?
(2) How will
those extra support officers support prisoners in their rehabilitation and
reintegration back into the WA community?
VOCATIONAL SUPPORT OFFICERS
451. Mr
D.T. PUNCH to the Minister for Corrective Services:
I refer to the significant impact
that COVID-19 has had on employment opportunities across Western Australia.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the provision of 125 vocational support
officer positions within WA prisons will
provide more employment opportunities as the economy begins to recover from
COVID-19?
(2) How will
those extra support officers support prisoners in their rehabilitation and
reintegration back into the WA community?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for Bunbury for that question and for his commitment, interest
and service to corrections, particularly the Bunbury Regional Prison. The
current COVID-19 crisis has meant that many prisoners
have had to stop their activities outside prison, particularly section 95
prisoners. The member for Bunbury has used many section 95 prisoners to
assist in environmental rehabilitation in Bunbury. Also affected has been reintegration leave, work in the community and most
recreational activities. As the house knows,
social visits were stopped to protect prisoners, and the ability for prisoners
to engage in meaningful work has been limited. Everyone knows that education
and training programs increase the ability for prisoners to rehabilitate
themselves and to find meaningful employment when they leave prison, and
basically turn their lives around and get a job. The department recognised
that, with that limitation, it needed to introduce a number of things very
quickly.
Operation
Helping Hand was introduced inside the prison. Members have probably seen a couple
of excerpts on TV about that. Women from the Boronia Pre-release Centre
for Women made cakes for nursing staff and aged care residents who were next
door at SwanCare. A clip on the news showed prisoners from Pardelup Prison Farm
making furniture for underprivileged children who had to study from home. The
skills applied in the prisons are basically learnt from vocational support
officers. Those vocational support officers are primarily tradespeople whom we
try to encourage to come into the prison system. Over the past 10 to 15 years,
trying to get tradespeople to come into the prison system and impart their skills
to prisoners has been very difficult. We have had to compete with the private
sector. There have been a number of mining booms and people have chosen to use
their trade skills in far higher paid areas, so it has been very difficult to
attract highly qualified tradespeople to the prison area.
With
the impact of COVID-19, and particularly the loss of jobs initially for
tradespeople in this area, this was a golden opportunity for the prison
industries to attract good tradespeople to change their employment, change
their career path, and come into prisons instead. I encouraged the department
to see that this was the time to advertise for those 125 vocational support
officers, and it did. It conducted a two-week campaign comprising print, radio,
digital and social media to promote those 125 VSO positions. We were looking
for a series of trade areas, including baking, metal fabrication, gardening,
food preparation and painting. The advertising campaign was a phenomenal
success. We have had 1 134 applications, 41 of which are Aboriginal applicants
and 567 are female applicants. Human
relations has completed the third stage of short-listing, and the pool for
those 125 officers should be finalised in mid-July. It has been a terrific
advertising campaign and a terrific initiative to bring very highly skilled
people into prison industries and give them a completely new career path to
impart their skills to prisoners. As part of the rehabilitation process, we can
help transform people's lives so that when they leave prison, they will
be job ready to move straight into meaningful work.
thank the member for Bunbury for that question and for his commitment, interest
and service to corrections, particularly the Bunbury Regional Prison. The
current COVID-19 crisis has meant that many prisoners
have had to stop their activities outside prison, particularly section 95
prisoners. The member for Bunbury has used many section 95 prisoners to
assist in environmental rehabilitation in Bunbury. Also affected has been reintegration leave, work in the community and most
recreational activities. As the house knows,
social visits were stopped to protect prisoners, and the ability for prisoners
to engage in meaningful work has been limited. Everyone knows that education
and training programs increase the ability for prisoners to rehabilitate
themselves and to find meaningful employment when they leave prison, and
basically turn their lives around and get a job. The department recognised
that, with that limitation, it needed to introduce a number of things very
quickly.
Operation
Helping Hand was introduced inside the prison. Members have probably seen a couple
of excerpts on TV about that. Women from the Boronia Pre-release Centre
for Women made cakes for nursing staff and aged care residents who were next
door at SwanCare. A clip on the news showed prisoners from Pardelup Prison Farm
making furniture for underprivileged children who had to study from home. The
skills applied in the prisons are basically learnt from vocational support
officers. Those vocational support officers are primarily tradespeople whom we
try to encourage to come into the prison system. Over the past 10 to 15 years,
trying to get tradespeople to come into the prison system and impart their skills
to prisoners has been very difficult. We have had to compete with the private
sector. There have been a number of mining booms and people have chosen to use
their trade skills in far higher paid areas, so it has been very difficult to
attract highly qualified tradespeople to the prison area.
With
the impact of COVID-19, and particularly the loss of jobs initially for
tradespeople in this area, this was a golden opportunity for the prison
industries to attract good tradespeople to change their employment, change
their career path, and come into prisons instead. I encouraged the department
to see that this was the time to advertise for those 125 vocational support
officers, and it did. It conducted a two-week campaign comprising print, radio,
digital and social media to promote those 125 VSO positions. We were looking
for a series of trade areas, including baking, metal fabrication, gardening,
food preparation and painting. The advertising campaign was a phenomenal
success. We have had 1 134 applications, 41 of which are Aboriginal applicants
and 567 are female applicants. Human
relations has completed the third stage of short-listing, and the pool for
those 125 officers should be finalised in mid-July. It has been a terrific
advertising campaign and a terrific initiative to bring very highly skilled
people into prison industries and give them a completely new career path to
impart their skills to prisoners. As part of the rehabilitation process, we can
help transform people's lives so that when they leave prison, they will
be job ready to move straight into meaningful work.
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