Next Clink restaurant announced in women’s prison
A fourth prisoner training restaurant will open its doors in 2015 at HMP Styal in Cheshire.
Run by The Clink Charity and the Prison Service, the restaurant will be the first to be established in a women’s prison and will improve ex-offenders’ prospects of employment, helping to reduce the chances of reoffending on release.
The restaurants are staffed by prisoners and are open to the general public. At HMP Styal, women prisoners working in The Clink will gain food preparation, food service and cleaning City and Guilds NVQ qualifications, as well as experience within an operational business and in-depth guidance to find full-time employment within the hospitality industry upon release.
This latest announcement follows the opening of The Clink Restaurant at HMP Brixton in February this year and the recent launch of The Clink Gardens at HMP Send.
Governor of HMP Styal John Hewitson said:
We are pleased to welcome this exciting partnership with The Clink Charity which will help us get more women into employment and, in turn, help reduce the risk of reoffending. When the restaurant opens, it will give the community an opportunity to see first-hand how we’re helping to prepare these women for release.
Chris Moore, Chief Executive of The Clink Charity adds:
Opening the Restaurant at HMP Styal strengthens The Clink’s commitment to reduce reoffending rates. It also means that we can increase our training efforts to continue to bridge the skills gap in the hospitality industry. We’ve seen such positive results from the projects currently in action and with the concept being expanded across the prison estate; we hope to continue seeing a decrease in reoffending rates with support from businesses and the public.