European Social Fund in Poland: Best Practices - Europejski ...

Mariusz Jastrzębski,
inspektor ds. zatrudnienia
w Zakładzie Karnym w Wołowie:
Większość osadzonych była zadowolona,
że mogą się dokształcić i że mają co robić
Mariusz Jastrzębski,
employment inspector at the Prison
in Wołów:
The majority of the inmates were happy to get
an opportunity to learn something useful
and to have something meaningful to do
» they managed to overcome fears about the unknown, while their attitude
changed from passive and withdrawn into open and active. In a word,
the project gave the inmates an opportunity to change their fortunes
and many of the participants made good use of this rare opportunity. Undoubtedly,
our project was unique considering its scale and the variety
of actions undertaken and in the way we managed to combine social rehabilitation
with active environmental protection. Apart from the training programmes,
we worked closely with the families of the inmates, with the local
community and employers.
Within the project, an effective system of monitoring the progress of ex-convicts
on the open labour market was used. Results show that around 80%
of those participating in the project actively look for jobs, and of them, around
50% have already found employment (also working abroad). “We were not
afraid to introduce changes whenever the situation required this. I also believe
that our information and promotional campaign to change the image
of an ex-convict to some extent succeeded in reducing the degree of exclusion
suffered by persons leaving prisons”, Alina Szklaruk adds.
“Our project involved a total of 657 convicts”, says Mariusz Jastrzębski, prison
officer and employment inspector at the Wołów Prison. “They were mainly
individuals who were nearing the end of their time in prison. They took part
in general builder’s courses, farming and environment, IT courses, they learnt
foreign languages and they learnt how to operate on the open labour market.
Inmates were allowed to take part in more than one course at the same
time. We wanted them to be able to find their way in society after completing
their time in prison. The majority of the inmates were glad to supplement
their education (many of them have only primary school education and have
never had a proper job) and that they have something to do.
”Everyone chose their own course. There were more volunteers than places
available”, recalls Mariusz Polak (aged 46, inmate at the Wołów Prison since
January 2004, he will finish serving his sentence in December 2008), who
participated in the “Black Sheep” project. “I took courses in catering and fish
farming. I learnt how to actively look for a job. I worked by looking after sheep,
goats and donkeys at the prison farm. I know of an inmate who completed
a chef’s course while still in prison, and who got a job at a pizza restaurant
when he finished his sentence. Now he is head chef. It was like winning
a lottery for him. I want the same. I would love to start up a fish farm with
another mate. If only five inmates out of every hundred made proper use
of these courses, we would have fewer thugs lurking in dark street corners.”
During their courses the inmates did very practical and necessary things.
“When they were learning to lay pavements, they worked in a place where
new pavements were needed”, adds Marek Gajos, a retired colonel, who
was governor of the Wołów Prison for 22 years. “They worked on alterations
to the prison buildings and looked after animals. Let’s not delude ourselves
that this project transformed everyone who took part, but a lot of the inmates
learnt something useful. And some of them engaged in honest work for
the first time in their lives. ◗
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