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‘Sometimes the talent of people can go to waste’: Project to turn Peterhead prisoners into entrepreneurs

Training has been given to turn HMP Grampian prisoners into entrepreneurs
HMP Grampian prisoners could emerge from behind bars as entrepreneurs under a new pilot scheme. Image: Edinburgh Business School

A “groundbreaking” project could keep HMP Grampian prisoners out of trouble by turning them into entrepreneurs in charge of their own micro-businesses.

The scheme, the first of its kind to take place, has been carried out to reduce reconviction rates.

It has been centred on female prisoners at the Peterhead facility.

The sessions are designed to equip them with skills which can help them establish their own business upon release.

HMP Grampian in Peterhead. Image: Kami Thomson/DCT Media

Training to turn HMP Grampian prisoners into entrepreneurs comes as reoffending rates rise

In Scotland, the criminal reconviction rate rose in 2018-19 for the first time in a decade.

It went from 26.4% to 28.3%, setting alarm bells ringing among prison chiefs.

The Scottish Prison Service estimates it costs about £40,000 to look after a single prisoner for a year.

And people are more likely to reoffend if they are unemployed.

HMP Grampian prisoners could stand a better chance on the outside as a result of the scheme. Image: DCT Media

This pilot scheme was carried out in conjunction with Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University.

The three-day course covered essential business skills, such as marketing, taxation, how to sell services and information on where to find support locally.

Attendees were chosen to attend the pilot based on their upcoming release date.

And the business ideas proposed included a food and drink company, house painting and pet care.

Why equip inmates with skills to start businesses?

Jahangir Wasim, head of business management at Heriot-Watt, described the benefits of the project.

He explained that, after leaving prison, people can “face numerous barriers to employment”.

The academic added: “The stigma of a criminal conviction means many opportunities, regardless of their ability, experience and even qualifications, are closed.

“We know that this can cause challenges to an individual’s sense of personal value, belonging and the role they play within their community – all of which can contribute to the likelihood that they may offend again.”

The corridors inside HMP Grampian. Image: DCT Media

Academics ‘impressed with passion’ on display

As well as practical skills, Mr Wasim hopes the scheme will provide inmates “with hope and a renewed passion for how their life could look when they are released”.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that some people “reoffend quickly” as they “don’t know how to manage in the community”.

Mr Wasim said: “We were impressed by the passion and dedication shown by the attendees throughout the pilot.

“You could really see them planning their futures out.”

The £150 million “superjail” was opened in 2014. Image: DCT Media

Confidence boost for HMP Grampian entrepreneurs

Graeme Young, outreach coordinator for HMP Grampian, said he noticed a difference in the women’s confidence as the course progressed.

He said: “Sometimes the talent of people can go to waste, because they don’t know how to turn it into a positive.

“However, with this course, they were shown how to take their ideas forward.”


Do you think this idea could help lower re-offending rates? Let us know in our comments section below


Gillian Murray thinks the project could have a big impact on society. Image: Edinburgh Business School

Funding is now being sought to extend the programme to help more of the 7,400 people in Scottish prisons.

Gillian Murray, deputy principal (Enterprise and Business) at Heriot-Watt hailed the “groundbreaking” pilot as a way of creating “long-lasting societal change”.

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