Statement of Forecast Service Performance - Output Class 6: Prisoner Employment

Prisoner employment contributes to reducing re-offending by providing remand and sentenced prisoners with the opportunity to gain work experience and improve their work habits and skills. Prisoners are also provided with the opportunity to undertake training toward recognised qualifi cations and work experience that improves their chances of obtaining sustainable post-release employment, which reduces the likelihood of their re-offending.

Over time, prisoner employment aims to provide all prisoners eligible and available for work with 1,410 hours per year of work training experience. This includes providing on-the-job employment training, vocational training, release-to-work opportunities and reintegration assistance. In the 2006/07 financial year the target is a total of 5.2 million hours of prisoner employment and the achievement of a total of 5,000 NZQA unit standards.

Expenses for Output Class 6 Prisoner Employment

For the Year Ending 30 June 2007

Outputs in this output class will be provided within the appropriated sum of $34.063 million (exclusive of GST).

OUTPUT 6.1 Land-based Activities

This output relates to the provision of employment hours and the delivery of NZQA unit standards to prisoners who work in farming, forestry, horticulture and other land-based activities.

OUTPUT 6.2 Manufacturing Activities

This output relates to the provision of employment hours and the delivery of NZQA unit standards to prisoners who work in manufacturing, construction and labour-only services.

OUTPUT 6.3 Internal Service Self-suffi ciency Activities

This output relates to the provision of employment hours and the delivery of NZQA unit standards to prisoners who work in internal self-sufficiency activities including:

• kitchens and laundry
• cleaning
• prison asset maintenance.

OUTPUT 6.4 Release to Work

This output relates to employment undertaken by minimum security prisoners in workplaces outside the prison. This programme allows prisoners nearing their release date and who meet the eligibility criteria to be temporarily released during the day to work.

OUTPUT 6.5 Vocational Training Services

This output provides prisoners with training activities that improve their chances of gaining sustainable post-release employment. It includes additional training beyond that level (which may involve certification for an externally recognised qualification that is not required for prisoner employment purposes), and can include training not related to the prisoner employment needs for particular prisoners. It excludes any training delivered in the workplace. In all cases, the successful completion of the training must result in the achievement of an externally recognised qualification.

OUTPUT 6.6 Community Services

This output relates to the provision of employment hours by prisoners undertaking community services. Prisoners nearing their release date and who meet eligibility criteria can work outside of the prison boundaries during the day in supervised work parties benefiting local communities.

1 An externally recognised qualification is a NZQA unit standard or, where no unit standard exists, one that is a recognised equivalent standard. A recognised equivalent standard is a document that attests that a prisoner has passed either all components of a defined course of study, or a module or unit associated with the partial completion of that course of study.