Young offenders to acquire skills for positive reintegration

Dec 18, 2017 News

– through two-year-programme

The juvenile offenders at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC), will soon participate in a two-year programme that is geared to provide them with the knowledge and skills needed to make positive contributions to society.
This announcement was made by Permanent Secretary, (PS) of the Ministry of Social of Protection; Loreen Baird during a recent Christmas luncheon at the facility located at Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast.
During her presentation, Baird disclosed that each of the juveniles will have an opportunity to undergo studies at the Secondary Competency Certificate Programme.
The programmes provide technical vocational education for adolescents. Baird noted that upon completion of the course, each of the juveniles will be awarded a certificate allowing them entrance into any government learning institution, where they can broaden their skills.
“We want when you leave this facility and you are reintegrated into society, that you can come out as a completely different person than you came in,” Baird told the teenagers.
She noted that the acquisition of life skills and education is key to the process to ensuring that they lose no momentum in academic learning.
Additionally, the PS announced that the daily management of the institution is set to be restructured in 2018.
Earlier this year, the non-governmental organization, Sustained Youth Development and Research Incorporated (SSYDR), took steps to collaborate with the government, and the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) to provide alternative sentencing for youths.
SSYDR’s Executive Director, Magda Wills had explained that the group is working closely with the Court to secure alternative sentencing for young non-violent offenders.
“We have found that having youths alternatively sentenced makes more sense than putting them into a prison system because working with the coach who would develop life plans with them is good.”
“Some of the youths might not have a plan and this coach would come and enquire what you want to do with yourself, and many times they would not know what they want to do, but then with the guidance and mentoring they develop a plan.”
Additionally, the SSYDR programme is designed to help young offenders secure employment and reintegrate to society.
“Because they are leaving a closed environment they would have been in for one to three years.”
“So coming out and being able to reintegrate them into society, ensuring that they find employment, get them back into the school system with somebody guiding them through the process is important, so we work with youths coming out of NOC as well as youths with alternative sentencing through the courts,” the Executive Director explained.
Last year, the operation of the NOC which caters for young offenders between 12 and 17 years old was transferred from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Social Protection, on the grounds that the institution’s purpose is to prepare and train juveniles for reintegration into society.

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