For the last three years, DragonHeart Homes, a CIOB company in Peterborough that makes modular units for public-sector housing, has employed prisoners from HMP North Sea Camp, a Category-D open men’s prison outside Boston in Lincolnshire.

So far, 41 inmates have come to work at DragonHeart. They get training and NVQs in construction skills, with CSCS cards.

It sets them up with cash in the bank and, upon their release, skills and experience the construction industry is crying out for.

DragonHeart is the largest employer in a government scheme called Prisoners Building Homes, which unlocks public land for modular housing developments and helps prisoners get work with the builders.

Some of the inmates have stayed with DragonHeart after their release, while others have gone to work at other companies in the scheme.

Six months after their release, most are in full employment and almost none have re-offended.

For this podcast, Global Construction Review editor Rod Sweet went to Peterborough to sit down with two men who’ve come through the DragonHeart programme.

One came back to work with the company after his release. Now 57, he’s been in prison for most of his adult life.

The other, still in prison, has accepted a permanent job offer from the company after his release in six weeks.

In candid conversations, both men say the experience has changed their lives. They’re proud of their new skills, proud to be looking after themselves and their families, and they love their jobs.

The man driving the outreach is DragonHeart director Jason Bassett MCIOB. He says the prisoners are reliable, productive workers who are eager to learn. He explains how the scheme works.

We also hear from Cheshire Police & Crime Commissioner Dan Price, who is on a mission to bring the Prisoners Building Homes scheme to Cheshire.

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