Prisoners train for the tool trade with Travis Perkins: Scheme makes business sense and brings social benefits

Abstract

Purpose

Describes how the tool‐hire business of builders' merchant and home‐improvement retailer Travis Perkins has teamed up with Stocken Prison, Rutland, UK, to train inmates to repair and refurbish the tools that the company hires out to its customers.

Design/methodology/approach

Explains the reasons for the training program, the form it takes and the results it has obtained.

Findings

Examines how the modular program, taught over five months to small groups of inmates, is practical and flexible, tailored to individual needs and technical experience. Explains that the training is carried out by a Travis Perkins workshop supervisor and two prison‐service instructors, all employed specifically for the project.

Practical implications

Describes how Travis Perkins has a fully functional and cost‐effective repair workshop in the prison, which is producing high‐quality work and saving money when compared to alternative solutions.

Social implications

Reveals that the project is helping to develop a skills and work ethos among the prisoners involved, giving them qualifications that will improve their chances of getting a job when released and so reduce the risk of them re‐offending.

Originality/value

Details a scheme that makes sound business sense and brings significant social benefits.

Citation

(2010), "Prisoners train for the tool trade with Travis Perkins: Scheme makes business sense and brings social benefits", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 35-37. https://doi.org/10.1108/09670731011083815