John* has been supported by our Passport CashBack service – a National Service for young people in custody which supports them into further education, training and employability prior to liberation.

He engaged with Access to Industry whilst he was in HMP & YOI Polmont. In his own words, at that time, he had “no qualifications and no experience with anything”. His Caseworker worked to engage him in the various courses provided by Access to Industry and HMP & YOI Polmont. He successfully earned several work-based certificates and built helpful links with community organisations.

Courses he completed include: REHIS Health and Safety; CITB CSCS with Hand Held Petrol Cutter; PASMA; Emergency First Aid at Work; and Food Hygiene. Arriving in prison with no formal qualifications, John is very pleased to be “leaving with some experience in a variety of things and a good number of qualifications”.

He rates his experience with Access to Industry as “10/10” and says his new-found qualifications and CSCS card (a card that provide proof that individuals working on UK construction sites have the appropriate training and qualifications) “will all help me in the future, defo!”.

Upon liberation, the aim is that he will work with our Caseworker in the community and think about volunteering as a way of furthering his training and experience. He will continue to be supported whilst he transitions back into a community setting.

*Anonymised name