Aussie prisons typically aren’t where most employers turn when looking for more staff.
But those at Australia’s correctional facilities could fuse a solution to the welding industry’s recruitment problem.
The sector’s labour shortage has become an increasing cause of concern in recent years, with half the nation’s workshops now operating at 80 per cent capacity or below.
The industry’s peak body, Weld Australia, says the nation will be 70,000 welders short by 2030.
However, a social project run by Victoria’s Department of Justice and Community Safety is delivering world-class welder training through its Vocational Education and Training (VET) Centre of Excellence – hoping to eventually boost worker numbers.
The project aims to give inmates the opportunity to spark a new career upon release by providing them with the tools and certification needed to build a successful career in the trade.
Sarah Miles, Deputy Commissioner of Corrections Victoria, says including welding certifications as part of the prisoner VET program would give them a better chance of rehabilitation upon exit.
“The expansion of the Centre of Excellence model to include welding is a fantastic opportunity to link what people are learning in the classroom to skills and on-the-job experience they are gaining in metal fabrication industries in prison and employment support and jobs as they prepare to leave prison,” she said.
The welding program features augmented reality training alongside actual welding workshops, allowing felons to shape their skills in both physical and virtual environments.
However, entry into the training is kept exclusively to well-behaved cons, who must submit an expression of interest and pass a stringent interview process to be accommodated.
As part of the Victoria Correction’s VET Centre of Excellence model, students are provided with prospective employers and pre/post-release employment support to provide a sustainable pathway to employment and reintegration following their release from prison.
The program has been music to the ears of industry bosses, who have been seeking ways to counter the concerning number of welders walking away from the trade.
The industry has seen an eight per cent decline in worker numbers since 2018.
Meanwhile, completion rates of welding apprenticeships have fallen by as much as 23 per cent annually.
The social project picked up one of the most prestigious accolades at Weld Australia’s 2023 Excellence Awards, the inaugural Weld Australia President’s Award, which was given to the nation’s best social project in the welding industry.
At the time, Weld Australia Boss CEO Geoff Crittenden praised the prison-based program’s work to improve the future of both prisoners and the industry alike.
“Corrections Victoria has shown exceptional commitment in time and resources and set an example for other states, jurisdictions and nations,” he said.
“The inaugural Weld Australia President’s Award for Outstanding Social Project in Welding recognises the unique program of welder training initiated by the Department of Justice and Community Safety, Corrections Victoria.”
“It acknowledges the outstanding dedication that Corrections Victoria staff have demonstrated in establishing systems to help people leaving prison find gainful employment as welders.”
