Fencing and Horticulture qualifications for 24 Rimutaka prisoners

The first group of prisoners in Rimutaka Prison’s new farm skills course graduated on Friday 4 March.

The Introduction to Farm Skills (Fencing) course gives graduates the opportunity to gain employment wherever a fencing contractor is working. Nine men graduated from the 13 week course.

Mathew Allen, Rimutaka’s Assistant Prison Director, said the men have “real qualifications that will help them obtain real jobs, make positive changes, and have real futures”.

“They should be proud of themselves and use the skills they have learnt to obtain employment which then helps them to provide for their families and be a positive person in their communities.”

Agriculture tutor John Renshaw, from farm skills training provider Taratahi, said the men had skills that were in demand. “There’s a shortage of skilled fencers. These men are trained to install fences to the industry standard.”

As part of their training, the men had to install fencing wire, electric fencing, fence posts, hang two types of gate and tie knots. The fence the men built inside the wire at Rimutaka Prison also demonstrated their knowledge of how to build a fence in a gully.

One of the challenging aspects of the course was installing fence posts in holes up to 1.2m deep manually. David* recognised it was “a real physical job” and that working with other prisoners to get the posts in “was a big helpful thing”. He was proud of his new skills and said his children would be too. “When I see a fence on TV now, I’m looking at how good the fence is”.

Awards were presented for the best wire work which involved tying knots to industry standard, most improved fencer and best overall fencer.

Taratahi also delivers the course in Northland Region Corrections Facility and Hawkes Bay Regional Prison.

The graduation also included 15 prisoners who gained Level 2 and 3 National Certificates in Horticulture. The horticulture qualification gives graduates the work-ready skills to work in council parks and reserves, gardens and golf courses among other sites. The course has been running for two and a half years at the prison.

Reducing re-offending is Corrections’ top priority and by helping prisoners to learn skills and earn qualifications, it could help them gain employment on release. Research shows that getting a sustainable job can reduce the likelihood of re-offending and help create safer communities.

*Not his real name

ENDS

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