Prison Instructor
What is the work like?
Prison instructors, or instructional officers, help prison inmates to gain skills which could help them find employment after their release.
As a prison instructor you could provide training in a variety of subjects from construction skills and engineering to tailoring, footwear and printing. Your work would vary depending on your subject area, but could include:
- assessing the skills and training needs of individual prisoners
- planning training sessions
- preparing teaching materials
- providing group or individual instruction
- keeping records on prisoners' progress
- supporting prisoners in working towards qualifications such as NVQs
- making sure prisoners are supervised at all times
- making sure all tools and materials are accounted for to avoid security risks.
In some prisons you could work for a private company which is contracted to the prison service.
What qualifications and experience will employers look for?
You would need to have, or be working towards, a recognised teaching qualification – see the Further Education Teacher profile and the LLUK website for details.
You would also need experience in your area of specialism and at least a level 3 qualification such as an NVQ. You may find it useful in some jobs to have qualifications in NVQ assessing. See the NVQ Assessor profile for details.
To work in the prison service you must also:
- be a British or Commonwealth citizen, a British Protected person, or a national of the European Economic Area (EEA)
- have no time restrictions on your stay in the UK
- not be a member of a group or organisation that the Prison Service considers to be racist
- not be an undischarged bankrupt.
If you are going to work with young people under the age of 18 you will need CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) clearance.
What further training and development can I do?
You would usually begin your training with a one-week induction course at the prison where you would be an instructor.
You could gain extra skills and qualifications, such as an NVQ in Training and Development, or more advanced further education teaching qualifications.
Where can I go for more information?
5th FloorSt Andrew’s House
18-20 St Andrew Street
London
EC4A 3AY
Information and Advice Service: 020 7936 5798
Email: advice@lluk.org
Atlas Way
Sheffield
S4 7QQ
Upper Newtownards Road
Belfast
BT4 3SU
Tel: 028 9052 5065
Cleland House
Page Street
London
SW1P 4LN
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What salary and other benefits can I expect?
Instructors can earn between £17,545 and £23,452 a year.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
What are the hours and working conditions?
You would usually work a 37-hour, five-day week.
You could work indoors in small factories, workshops or classrooms, or outdoors, for example if you are teaching farming or horticultural skills.
What skills and knowledge will I need?
- skills in your specialist trade or subject
- good communication skills
- patience
- the ability to build good relationships and gain the trust of inmates
- the ability to motivate people and help them make the most of their training opportunities
- the ability to manage groups and deal with challenging behaviour
- good judgement to assess potentially difficult situations
- awareness of safety and security.
What opportunities are there?
You could be employed as an instructor by prisons or young offender institutions. Some colleges and private companies are contracted by prison services to employ instructors, so you could also work for one of these.
Vacancies are advertised in newspapers, by Jobcentre Plus and on prison service websites – see the HM Prison Service website for links.
With experience you could progress to senior or principal officer, or move into other areas of training or instructing.
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