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CHARMAINE CHE

As the prisoners hammer and drill away at the woodwork site in Tong Fuk Correctional Institution on Lantau Island, they are not just doing a good day's work - they are constructing a brighter future for themselves.
Yesterday saw 13 male prisoners, aged between 22 and 36, graduate from a 95-day Timber Formwork Skill Course and receive a certificate of qualification.
"I'm really happy," said inmate "Ming Chai", 25, who has been in jail for nearly two years for selling drugs.
"I am looking forward to showing my family the certificate so they don't have to worry so much about me."
The training programme was jointly organised by the Correctional Services Department (CSD) and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) to help prisoners get back on their feet when they are released and to enhance their employability.
The course fee, of nearly HKD$10,000 per person, was fully subsidised by the CIC.
Chan Ming-por, the CIC instructor who taught the course, said "inmates do not have a criminal record on their qualifications, putting them on an equal footing with those who take this exam outside of prison".
According to data provided by the CIC, the average daily wage of new timber formwork workers is about HK$670, which can rise to HK$1,100 after a year.
CSD superintendent Ko Pun-ho said similar training schemes would be offered in the coming years.
"In 2013 to 2014, we will provide 36 vocational training courses with more than 1,400 places, covering construction, engineering, business and the food and beverage, retail, tourism, beauty care and logistics industries," he said.
Courses would also be available for juvenile prisoners.
There are currently 29 correctional facilities in Hong Kong, 12 of which are for male adult offenders.
 


Training schemes help HK prisoners get new start

News

Hong Kong