Young Offenders

It is widely acknowledged that the industry is under threat from a skills shortage and in response Morrison has implemented recruitment and training initiatives to meet the growing need of skilled, competent workers and attract new blood into the industry. Our sustainable recruitment practices have enabled us to take on more than 480 recruits who were previously disenfranchised from the jobs market. This has wider benefits for society in that it alleviates the skills shortage and these individuals are able to make positive contribution to society through the payment of tax and having a disposable income.

Rehabilitation programme for young offenders
Morrison provides support to National Grid’s rehabilitation programme for young offenders. In 2003 this programme was a National Finalist for the Healthy Communities Award in the Business in the Community (BITC) Awards for Excellence 2003. In conjunction with National Grid we are able to demonstrate how providing young offenders with training and employment opportunities as part of their rehabilitation can make a real difference to their prison experience.

To date we have supported twelve young offender programmes and are extremely pleased with the results. Previous experience has shown that few young people are likely to re-offend if given the opportunity to find rewarding full-time employment. We are pleased to support an initiative that gives these young people who might otherwise be disadvantaged when looking for work, a chance to secure long-term employment. 35 of these young people were employed with us on completion of their programmes and the scheme has now been widened to include adults.

In our experience, all of the candidates who have been through the programme have demonstrated that they want to work hard, and we’re pleased with their progress.

We have been really impressed by their attitude to work. They have shown a willingness to learn and have fitted really well into our existing teams and are keen to gain new qualifications. Achieving an NVQ qualification GNO1 is the first step in becoming a qualified craftsman and a team leader. Our first recruit from April 2002 has recently started his NVQ GNO2 course to gain the craftsman qualification and eventually team leader status. We recently asked Tim how he thought things have gone since he joined us. Tim replied; “Well I have a job, I’ve got my own money, I’ve learnt to drive and own my own car, I have a girlfriend and we are buying our first house together, what more do I want?”