EMR effort prepares incarcerated persons for work
EMR effort prepares incarcerated persons for work
<![CDATA[
United Kingdom-based metals recycling firm EMR Ltd. says it has invested more than £40,000 ($54,500) to create a new workshop facility at Her Majesty’s Prison Forest Bank, near Manchester, England. EMR says the workshop has been designed to provide “key skills and employment opportunities to prisoners as they prepare for release.”
Working with the prison’s operator, Sodexo, EMR says it is able to provide up to 15 prisoners per shift with the opportunity to join a team that separates tires from wheel rims, which EMR calls “a vital step in the process of sustainably recycling end-of-life vehicles (ELVs).”
The team can separate more than 1,500 tires per week, the result of a system that began accepting its first team members in May of last year. The workshop has taken “careful planning” by both EMR and prison staff to implement and was the result of initial discussions with Sodexo’s Head of Learning and Employment, Steve Jones, in 2018, says EMR.
“By collaborating on the training, support and educational opportunities that come with working at the site, EMR is committed to helping Sodexo enhance the quality of work available to prisoners at HMP Forest Bank,” states the recycling firm.
A series of bronze, silver and gold certificates allow prisoners to show progress during their time working on the EMR initiative, and three individuals have risen to the position of team leader since the scheme started in May, says EMR.
EMR and Sodexo employees also have supported prisoners in developing the skills needed for the interview process as well as offering help in preparing résumés, says EMR. “As the scheme develops, EMR is keen to offer employment opportunities to prisoners who show a high level of commitment and the right attitude during their time at the workshop,” adds the firm.
A proportion of the wages earned while working for EMR are kept back to ensure that, upon release, prisoners have a financial cushion to find accommodation and begin the process of rebuilding their lives after completing their sentence.
“I’m really proud to reveal the new EMR site we’re operating in HMP Forest Bank today,” says Rowland Cooper, EMR’s director of human resources at EMR. “We really want the prisoners who work with us at HMP Forest Bank to feel part of the wider EMR family so, from the logos on their uniforms and the branding on site – right down to the mugs they use when they’re having a well-earned break – this facility looks and feels just like any other of our sites around the U.K.”
Adds Cooper, “We’d also like to thank Sodexo which, alongside providing us with a team of committed employees who have been trained up on how to run a busy EMR site in a prison context, has also built and prepared a modern workshop facility for the prisoners to use.”
]]>
Source: Recycling Today
EMR effort prepares incarcerated persons for work
<