Work Experience

One of the ISSP primary objectives is to try and secure employment for those young people who are of working age. The majority of young people on an ISSP failed to have structured activities in their everyday life. The ISSP is designed to place structure and boundaries into their routine. Part of their development plan is get to prepare them for the work place.

There are future plans to try and secure other work experience within the community. The aim of this is to give young people a more comprehensive choice as to the sort of work they may be interested in. We have had confirmation that Foxburrow farm are willing to give our young people the opportunity to do work experience. However I will ask Crime Concern to do a health and assessment of the premises before we take up the placement. The Community caretakers in Ipswich and Stowmarket museum seem keen to participate within the programme.

The Waterfront Community Centre

The Waterfront Community Centre helps develop their work ethics. Pam runs the community centre and claims that she works on the principle of fifty / fifty, where she expects them to do some work around the centre as well as enjoying what the community centre has to offer. The young people have the opportunity to do painting, general cleaning, help deliver leaflets as well as working in the garden. The Waterfront Community Centre gives young people a little glimpse into a working life. Pam is also willing to act as a referee for young people for possible future employment.

Below are further links to some of the activities carried out with the young people as part of their ISSP's:

The Suffolk Punch Trust at Holllesley Bay

The Suffolk Punch Trust helps our young people develop both work ethics and receive positive guidance from adult offenders. The Suffolk Punch Trust was established in 2002 to take the Colony Stud at HM Hollesley Prison into private charitable ownership. Some of the aims of the Trust are to continue the therapeutic, rehabilitation and training programmes for prison inmates, undertake conservation and heritage education for all age groups and the socially excluded and to encourage eco-tourism. This kind of stance fits in perfectly with the aims and objectives of YOS and ISSP.

A typical day for one of our young people attending this work experience initiative starts at 7am when they are picked up and transported out to the stud farm; after a quick cup of tea and chat with the gaffer they don their safety wear and the hard work ensues. Part of the Trust's work is involved with the rehabilitation of injured racehorses that otherwise would be put to sleep. The young people help here by leading the horses out to their fields then mucking out the stables, replenishing both the dirty straw bedding and the hay boxes. As there are a number of horses to do this for it can take the majority of the morning right up to tea break time. This is perhaps for some of the young people one of the more beneficial parts of the day as they get to spend time in close quarters with prisoners from The Hollesley Bay Colony Category D Prison. The inmates of the prison can on a regular basis be heard giving positive guidance to our young people in the form of how they need to straighten out their lives whilst they still have a chance and not fall into the same lifestyles that they have. The short period of time after tea break is normally taken up with helping in the ongoing breeding programme of the Suffolk Punch horses, with tasks such as leading the mares and fouls from the fields to the stables in readiness for covering. Although many of the young people that attend this work experience initiative are not perhaps considering future work with horses or indeed animals in general; the skills involved in the individual tasks that they undertake here put them in good stead for tasks that are found in many roles they may be considering.