Risdon Prison Trade Training Centre Opened

The official opening of the new Trade Training Centre at the Risdon Prison Complex today is an important step in providing quality rehabilitation and skills training for prisoners.

The $1 million Trade Training Centre was an important part of the $20 million Prison Infrastructure Redevelopment Program which has now been completed.

It will allow the Tasmania Prison Service to deliver vocational education programs that provide prisoners with skills to prepare them for reintegration into the community and help ensure they can find employment after release.

The Department of Education and the Tasmanian Prison Service have worked in partnership on the programs at the Trade Training Centre, with the courses to be run by TasTAFE.

Today I presented certificates to the first group of prisoners to benefit from the new facilities who have recently completed their Certificate II in Construction.

The Certificate II qualification provides competency in the use of hand tools, safe working procedures and basic woodwork fabrication techniques.

The Trade Training Centre has initially been fitted out as a general purpose training centre focused on construction and includes a classroom for delivering the theory component of the training.

Further development will occur in the future that will provide the flexibility to deliver training in a broad range of trade areas, in alignment with current industry needs.
Vanessa Goodwin, Minister for Corrections