CIOB chiefs visit Kier prison project to see Hard Hat Ready programme in action

Construction can play a pivotal role in reducing reoffending by creating genuine employment opportunities for prison leavers according to Kier, as work continues on the £200m-plus expansion of HMP Channings Wood in Devon.

The contractor recently hosted Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) chief executive Dr Victoria Hills and CIOB president Paul Gandy at the Category C prison to showcase the social value initiatives being delivered alongside the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) project.

The visit focused on Kier’s Hard Hat Ready programme, part of its wider Making Ground initiative, which prepares prisoners for careers in construction after release. During the visit, the CIOB delegation met serving prisoners who had completed the programme to discuss how it had changed their outlook on employment and the barriers they still face in entering the industry.

Hard Hat Ready provides participants with construction industry knowledge which helps prepare them for Construction Skills Certification Scheme requirements, with the aim of improving employability and supporting successful reintegration into society.

The programme forms part of the wider HMP Channings Wood expansion, where Kier is delivering two four-storey, energy-efficient T60 houseblocks providing 494 additional prison places, alongside a new education and jobs workshop. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027 and will increase the prison’s capacity by around 40%. It is one of several projects contributing to the MoJ’s £4.7bn programme to create 14,000 new prison places across England by 2031.

The education workshop is intended to support rehabilitation by equipping prison leavers with practical skills before release, while Kier’s Making Ground programme provides a pathway into employment with the contractor and its supply chain.

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The contractor says 56 prisoners at HMP Channings Wood have already graduated from the Hard Hat Ready course. Across the business, Making Ground has supported many people with convictions since its launch in 2020, offering employment support and Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) opportunities as part of its commitment to reducing reoffending through sustainable careers.

The CIOB visit also highlighted the industry’s wider skills agenda. Gandy met Kier’s graduate construction managers to discuss career development, mentoring and professional progression, while Hills joined senior Kier representatives to explore opportunities to strengthen collaboration between the contractor and the professional body, including support for chartership, professional development and social value initiatives.

Visitors also toured the construction site, where the new prison buildings are being delivered using modern methods of construction. Off-site manufactured components are being used to improve build quality, reduce programme times, enhance health and safety and lower carbon emissions. The fully electric T60 houseblocks are the latest evolution of a standardised prison design that Kier is delivering across the MoJ estate.

The visit demonstrated how major public sector projects can combine infrastructure delivery with long-term social outcomes, using construction not only to expand the prison estate but also to help address skills shortages while creating employment opportunities for people leaving the justice system.

Hills thanked the Kier team for hosting the site visit saying it was a great opportunity to learn about the work and very useful to be able to talk to the MoJ about their Emerging Talent project: “A project like this illustrates how much collaboration happens across the industry and how it’s possible to successfully drive forward work on rehabilitation, employability and, more broadly, closing the skills shortage, now and into the longer-term.

“My biggest takeaway was the scale of the huge, untapped potential for the construction sector – with a desperate need to address skills gaps, and an equally desperate ambition to find sustainable rehabilitation pathways for prison leavers, Kier have demonstrated there is a win-win. We’d like to see much more of this and I have written to the Minister of State for Prisons to continue the conversation.”