8. Dr CAM CALDER (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Corrections
Has she received any progress reports on the Government’s Prisoner Skills and Employment Strategy?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Corrections) Link to this
Over the past year there has been a significant increase in the number of New Zealand Qualifications Authority qualifications achieved by prisoners. In the last financial year 495 New Zealand Qualifications Authority national certificates were achieved by prisoners. This compares with 275 in the previous year, and represents an increase of 80 percent. There was also a big increase in the number of level 3 and level 4 qualifications achieved during the year. The qualifications cover building, construction, horticulture, mechanical engineering, and crane operation. These are real qualifications that will help prisoners to find jobs when they are released, which means they are less likely to reoffend and end up back in prison.
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
The number of prisoners undertaking literacy and numeracy education has increased by 15 percent over the last financial year. The number has grown from 1,300 in the 2008-09 year to 1,496 in the past year. The department has been able to do this by providing literacy and numeracy tuition as part of prisoner employment training. Last month a further 14 employment instructors gained adult education qualifications, which will enable them to provide that tuition. This Government is determined to increase the number of prisoners who can read, write, and do maths, as this will help offenders to get their lives back on track when they leave jail.