For immediate release

CNWL provides offender employment and skills course in partnership with Brent Start and Veolia

Ten men from CNWL's low secure inpatient offender care service in Brent have completed a 10-week employability course in which they learnt work-related skills. They have now been awarded their certificates.

The men are all patients at the Tasman Ward Low Secure Forensic Unit at Park Royal Secure Services, which provides specialist assessment, treatment and care to people who have or may have severe mental illness and complex needs. All have low educational attainment levels.

Among skills they learnt were communication and interview skills, job seeking skills, team work and developing a positive job attitude.

The course was delivered through Brent Start, a local adult education college, which provides Brent citizens with a wide range of nationally recognized vocational courses, from business, ICT and retail, especially focussing on employment related skills and support to progress in their career.

They will put their new-found skills to good use in the New Year when they will undertake work experience hosted by Veolia, which provides ground maintenance services and recycling and refuse collections on behalf of Brent Council. The men will work two days a week with on-the-job training, which could lead to permanent work.

Occupational Therapist Sybille Sparke, who arranged for Brent Start to provide the course, said: "There are still huge barriers for offenders or ex-offenders to achieve employment, nevertheless all of the participants have expressed a strong wish to find employment as part of their recovery goals and we wanted to work with that. One of the biggest challenges in working on a secure forensic ward linking patients with relevant education and community resources, bearing in mind the need to overcome barriers such as low literacy levels, having a criminal record or permitted leave of absence from the unit under Section 17 of the Mental Health Act."

"This project has had a huge impact upon their self-esteem and their engagement and enthusiasm has been fantastic. Working in partnership with Brent Start and Veolia is unlocking doors and helping service users back into the community and is strengthening our recovery-focused approach.

The patients received their certificates from Brent Council's Cllr Roxanne Mashari, Brent Council's Lead Member for Employment and Skills.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Stephenson House, 75 Hampstead Road, London NW1 2PL
Tel: 020 3214 5700 e-mail:communications.cnwl@nhs.net

Editors' notes

Attached photo shows Lee Connelly (Veolia Ground Maintenance Manager) and Cllr Roxanne Mashari (Brent Council's Lead Member for Employment and Skills)