Joint venture will connect prisoners with the skills they require to secure employment and drive growth in the South Wales economy
A new era in learning and skills for prisoners in South Wales has begun today as the first prisoners at HMP&YOI Parc in Bridgend have started education programmes delivered by Novus Gower.
Having been awarded the contract to deliver Learning and Skills at HMP&YOI Parc in July, Novus Gower started the delivery of the contract today and will be working to provide prisoners with education programmes specifically developed to help them acquire the skills they will require to secure stable employment upon their release.
Novus Gower is a unique joint venture between not-for-profit prison education provider Novus and Gower College Swansea, which combines Novus’ 30 years of experience in the provision of prison education, training and employability programmes with Gower College Swansea’s high-quality teaching across academic and technical courses and highly-regarded links across the local labour market.
The partnership will provide prisoners at HMP&YOI Parc with a specialist delivery model which will deliver ‘best in class’ prison education programmes that will enable learners to develop the skills required to access opportunities in the labour market and drive growth in the local South Wales economy.
Peter Cox, Novus Managing Director and Board Director of Novus Gower, commented: “We are really pleased to start working to truly make a difference to the future outcomes of our learners at HMP&YOI Parc, providing them with the skills and qualifications to find job opportunities on release, which in turn reduces reoffending.
“Rehabilitation and employability skills are absolutely key to our delivery in HMP&YOI Parc. We are excited about working closely with local and national employers to provide opportunities for our learners and we’re really keen to hear from any potential new partners that are interested in working with us.”
Mark Jones, Director at Novus Gower and Principal and CEO at Gower College Swansea said: “We are delighted to commence delivery of the Learning and Skills contract for HMP&YOI Parc. The diversity and reach of our provision at Gower College Swansea is something I’m immensely proud of and this contract further demonstrates our commitment to meeting the broadest possible range of education, training and employment needs across South Wales.
“Through our partnership with Novus, we are bringing together not only a wealth of experience, innovation and expertise in education and skills delivery, but also a shared commitment to transforming the lives of learners at HMP&YOI Parc through the provision of high-quality learning opportunities which maximises the chances of securing meaningful employment on release.”
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Notes to editor
About Novus Gower
Novus Gower is a partnership between Novus, which is part of LTE Group, and Gower College Swansea. The organisation was formed in 2022.
About Gower College Swansea
Gower College Swansea is one of the largest further education colleges in Wales with over 4,500 full time and 8,000 part time learners from across Swansea and the surrounding area studying each year. The College is continually broadening the reach of its provision through an increasingly diverse offering which, in recent years, has included the significant growth of Apprenticeship provision at all levels, the establishment of a large-scale suite of Employability support to communities across Swansea, the expansion of its offer to Year 10 and Year 11 learners, in conjunction with local schools, and a strong HE provision.
The College operates from seven locations across Swansea and is one of the largest employers in the region with over 1,000 staff and an annual turnover of just under £50m.
About Novus
Novus is a not-for-profit social enterprise which delivers education, training, employment and support services for adults and young people in custody through to the community in England and Wales. For almost 30 years we have been helping men, women and children of all ages and abilities, in custodial and community settings, to take new directions, by providing them with the learning, skills and opportunity needed to build positive futures for themselves, their families and our communities. We work together with our public, community and employer partners towards shared aims, helping individuals turn their lives around.
We are part of LTE Group, a UK social enterprise dedicated to improving lives and economic success through learning and skills. The Group is made up of five specialist organisations – The Manchester College, UCEN Manchester, Novus, MOL and Total People – all with a shared mission and values. Find out more at: www.novus.ac.uk
Both Gower College Swansea and LTE are members of the prestigious Collab Group of further education providers.
For media enquiries please contact Allison Lowe on 01792 284262 or allison.lowe@gcs.ac.uk or Emma Ward on 07730 617869 or warde@ltegroup.co.uk