60 women prisoners get basic IT, business training prior to parole

In a project initiated by Diepkloof Prison authorities and sponsored by enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solution market leader, SAP, human resources solution provider to the information technology industry, Vertex and Microsoft South Africa, 60 women prisoners due for parole have been prepared for re-entering the job market.

In the past three years, training sessions comprised of 12 weekly modules have been held twice a year - equipping 10 prisoners at a time with skills in Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint and teaching them basic business skills, such as planning the cash flow for a small business, effective self-presentation in a business environment, writing business letters and compiling a CV. They are also shown the basics of Internet and e-mail functionality. The most recent group of 10 graduates was awarded certificates of competence in office and basic business skills on Friday, 29 October. From 2005, three training courses will be held per year.

Vertex supplies trainers and training material, Microsoft donates software and SAP equips the training room with 10 workstations and provides maintenance services.

"The training has resulted in some wonderful success stories," says Vertex managing director, Debra Stevens. "The market is inherently cautious about employing people with criminal records and, with unemployment running at more than 40%, women being paroled from prison find it difficult to compete for jobs with people who don't have records. So, while the skills we give them certainly put them in a better position to find conventional employment, many of them find it easier to transition back to normal society by starting their own small businesses. One woman, for instance, started a very successful child care facility and another is running a personalised stationery business - based on her computer skills."

To graduate from the course and receive formal certificates of competence, students have to obtain a 66% pass mark, averaged across all modules. In spite of the high standards set, Stevens has been gratified to be able to register a 100% pass rate. "Obviously, the course offers the women a welcome change from prison routine. But they don't just apply themselves for that reason. They've paid for the mistakes they've made and are now keen to get back to a normal life. They understand that the course represents a rare opportunity to make their second chance at life really pay off. So they put their backs into those four hours a week."

Competition within the prison to attend the courses is fierce. Absence without good reason from only one lesson, therefore, means being taken off the course and being replaced by someone more committed.

Why only women prisoners? "The situation is symptomatic of the centuries of gender stereotyping that have affected communities all over the world," Stevens says. "Most male prisoners have some sort of trade to which they can go back once they leave gaol. But, the women have been raised to be home-makers rather than employees in business. So, training in business and computer skills is essential to prevent them - once they go back into society - from encountering the same desperation due to lack of employment that drew them into crime in the first place."

SAP Public Services' Andre Kruger adds that sustainability has to be the key to any social investment initiative. "That's why SAP focuses its community activities on education. People who have relevant skills can help themselves as well as those less fortunate, creating a cycle of progress that sustains itself.

"From that perspective, although the Diepkloof Prison project is small in terms of the numbers of people it benefits directly, it has profound long-term effects in terms of helping people who have been considered threats to society to become self-reliant, confident contributors to society."