Supporting more Learners Into Employment at HMP Humber

Since 2022, HMP Humber and the Novus Works team have been working with training provider Portull Training Ltd. and Humber Ports Labour Agency to support learners into employment at the Humber Docks upon release. 

Initially, our Novus Works advisor at HMP Humber reached out to Portull Training Ltd. to see what courses they offer. After discovering that the training provider ran an employment agency, supplying labourers to the Humber docks, our colleague proposed a meeting with the provider to discuss a potential opportunity. 

The meeting included a site tour and an introduction to the department that ran the employment agency called, Humber Ports Labour Agency (HPLA). After further discussions and clarifying a referral system for both training and employment opportunities, HMP Humber began to work in partnership with both companies to support as many learners into employment as possible.

The process

Prison leavers are advised to sign-on for Universal Credit, they then can do a variety of funded courses such as forklift operations, digger/excavator, crane operative, slinger/banksman etc. The advisor then refers the prison leavers to the Employment Agency Manager who interviews them, before arranging mandatory dock training. 

The applicants can therefore go from release to training, interview and employment in as little as three weeks! 

Once a couple of prison leavers had gone through the process, the Novus Works adviser relayed the information to the rest of the Novus Works team, so that they could replicate the process at other prison sites across Yorkshire and Humber. 

Employment outcomes 

The partnership has been a real success with many prison leavers taking part in the process. There have been 14 interviews, 10 training outcomes with the courses either being forklift operations or mandatory dock operations courses, and 7 employment outcomes as dock labourers. 

One former learner in particular made an excellent impression, with the agency commenting positively on his conscientious and adaptable attitude. The prison leaver went through the training in three days, started work only two weeks after release and immediately asked to do overtime. 

The Novus Works advisor maintains regular contact with both the trainer and agency managers to ensure the process runs smoothly and they have regular process reviews to clarify applications and start dates for prison leavers. 

The working partnership between Novus, Portull Training Ltd. and Humber Ports Labour Agency has ensured that prison leavers at HMP Humber, are going into employment a short time after their release. Through the short turn-around, former learners are able to support themselves financially in a matter of weeks, positively contributing to their rehabilitation and discouraging them from reoffending. 

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