The challenge 1 Over half of all sentenced prisoners, and 75% of all young offenders, discharged from prison are re-convicted within two years. There are many reasons why individuals re-offend; the Social Exclusion Unit’s report to be published later this year will consider all the issues. One thing is clear: prisoners who are unemployed on release are more than twice as likely to re-offend as those who have a stable job. And if individuals are to remain in work they will do better if they have the mix of vocational skills and personal qualities which employers seek. 2 The scale of the problem should not be under-estimated. Surveys suggest that only one in ten prisoners has a job to go to on leaving prison. Poor levels of education and skills clearly contribute to the problem. Many prisoners’ literacy and numeracy skills are so poor that up to 90% of all jobs may be closed to them. Most prisoners also lack the knowledge and relevant skills in areas such as information technology needed for today’s workplace, and the self-esteem which will enable them to sustain employment and build a life away from crime. 3 The challenge is to tackle these deficits rapidly, comprehensively and effectively; to set sights high so that prisoners, on entering prison, know that as a matter of routine they will have an assessment leading to an appropriate programme of education and training while in custody which leads to work or further education or training on release. 4 We need to: build capacity in our prisons so that as many as possible of the 135,000 men and women who enter prison every year have the opportunity to learn, including those who serve short sentences of six months or less; motivate more prisoners to improve their educational attainments and to gain the skills needed for today’s workplace and to support their social re-integration; improve the links between prisons, education providers and resettlement agencies, so that prisoners can make an effective transition to resettlement by promptly moving into a job or a suitable programme of education or training on release; 5 We must take action now.

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