Novus education team at HMP/YOI Hatfield wins IOEE Centre of the Year

Novus has won a national award for its work in supporting offenders at HMP & YOI Hatfield to develop valuable entrepreneurial skills they can use on release from prison.

The Novus business course team, part of The Manchester College Group, won the Centre of the Year award at the 2015 Celebrating Enterprise Awards. The awards are hosted by the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IOEE) and the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) and were held at the House of Lords this week.

The Centre of the Year award is given in recognition of a centre which has gone beyond the call of duty to support learners in developing their enterprise and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge. Judges looked for centres which showed an enterprising approach to recruiting and engaging learners; contributed to the work of the institute by supporting and promoting events and research activities; developed an entrepreneurial culture for staff; and contributed to local community enterprise development.

Zahda Qayyum, Novus Curriculum Team Leader at HMP & YOI Hatfield, said: “We are delighted to receive such an esteemed accolade for the team’s achievements. Our Corporate Business Suite team has grown and developed in a short space of time and our learners gain invaluable knowledge from the self-employment course. As a team we are committed to rehabilitating offenders, reducing re-offending, and providing learners with the support they need to develop valuable enterprise skills that can be put to use upon their release from prison.”

The Novus Corporate Business Suite has been delivering SFEDI (Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative) Level 1 and Level 2 Business courses since November 2014 and IOEE (Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs) is part of the course as they give learners free mentoring service for their business.

The course ensures learners are well prepared for the world of work before they are released, and get valued input from external organisations including leading banking institutions.