Ministry leads drive to find ex-cons jobs

Ministry leads drive to find ex-cons jobs

The Labour Ministry is leading a campaign aimed at creating more job opportunities for former inmates with occupational skills training under a government project called "return good people to society".

Under a pilot project to begin in May, the ministry wants to find proper jobs for about 37,000 inmates who will soon be released from prison and who need jobs, according to Labour Minister Adul Sangsingkeo.

"It's the best policy to find them proper jobs so they won repeat their past mistakes," said Pol Gen Adul, adding that about 90% of inmates are of working age.

Before these inmates finish serving their sentences they will undergo occupational-skill training to help them find a job when they return to society, said Anurak Thosarat, director-general of the Department of Employment.

The training is designed to mainly prepare them to become either self-employed or obtain sufficient skills for jobs where there is a high demand for new workers, said Mr Anurak.

Work skills being offered include gold jewellery-making, shoe-making, sewing, and motorcycle assembly, he said.

There are currently about 340,000 inmates at 143 detention facilities nationwide, most are aged between 25 and 35, said Phloenjai Taekasem, deputy director-general of the Department of Corrections.

Most were convicted for drug or theft offences, she said, adding that each month about 5,000 inmates are freed from prison.

Some inmates who underwent occupational skills training have been handed apprenticeships with selected business, she said.

There are about 40 businesses taking part in a programme between the department and the private sector, she said.

About 460 inmates from 29 prisons are doing apprenticeships at these 40 businesses, most involve carpentry, welding, the auto industry, agriculture and agricultural product processing, she said.

They get to keep 70% of their wages, while the rest goes to the department to fund its job training programme for other inmates, she said.

Discrimination by many employers against former inmates, however, remains an important matter the department is struggling to cope with, she said.

One former inmate, for instance, recently landed a job after being released, but when his employer found out four months later that his new employee was a former inmate, he was sacked, she said.

For inmates interested in becoming self-employed, there still are some legal obstacles barring them from freely starting their own businesses such as opening a massage shop or a spa, she said.

The law regulating businesses connected to health promotion and therapy still bans former inmates from these occupations, she said.

The department has been working with the Public Health Ministry in pushing to have this law amended so that former inmates are not excluded, she added.

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