Justice Minister David Ford has pledged to address how the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) delivers learning and skills within prisons.
A Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJINI) inspection report found that while in some areas the provision of learning and skills is excellent, in others there is the need of improvement.
Mr Ford said: “This latest report shines a light on the scale of the challenge the Prison Service and its educational partners face in delivering, on a consistent basis, meaningful learning and skills programmes for offenders.
“While it finds pockets of excellence operating across the prison estate it also highlights a series of gaps in this service and that is something that I am determined to address.”
Since the last CJINI learning and skills report, the Prison Service has commenced a review of both the range of services available to prisoners and how they are delivered.
A draft Employability Strategy has been developed to ensure that the service provided to prisoners gives them a better opportunity to gain employment after their release and arrangements had been made to fill staff shortages.
Mr Ford said: “Through the Strategic Effective and Efficiency (SEE) Programme, a renewed focus has been placed on the provision of learning and skills across the prison estate.
“If we are to seriously tackle re-offending, then we must address the issues that are at its core. Central to this is improving the educational ability of offenders and providing them with the skills they need to secure employment on release.”
At the end of last year, the Minister opened the new Learning and Skills Centre at Maghaberry. Joined by Ministerial colleague Stephen Farry, the centre provides a range of courses for prisoners.
Mr Ford added: “I am committed to creating a Prison Service that delivers results for the money it spends from its learning and skills budget. The facilities at the new centre at Maghaberry should not be an exception to the norm – that is the challenge for the Prison Service of the future.”