A TRAINING scheme for inmates at Durham prison is reducing the risk of reoffending by preparing prisoners to find work on release.

The award-winning programme is proving so successful that it is being copied by other prisons in the UK.

As a high security prison, Durham is not classified as a resettlement institution, but Governor Mike Newell said: "We have an obligation to prepare prisoners to return to their communities better equipped to live useful and law-abiding lives.

"Research suggests that increasing employability through training and providing networks of support will decrease the likelihood of reoffending."

The Durham "job club" scheme, which has already won a 2003 National Training Award, is aimed at the 55 per cent of prisoners who serve six months or less in custody - the group for which the prison and probation services offer no co-ordinated intervention.

This group, said Mr Newell, included persistent offenders known sometimes as "revolving door" prisoners.

About four weeks before their release, prisoners undergo two weeks of learning through group discussions and written work.

This is followed by a further two-week session during which they apply their learning to writing letters of application for jobs.

The programme is run by prison officers and probation staff and is scheduled to operate 24 classes a year.

The training is having an impact. Figures show 11 per cent of prisoners enter the prison with jobs, while of those leaving, who take part in the scheme, 34 per cent have sustainable jobs to go to.

Mr Newell said: "The programme is designed to create a second chance for those who have not been able fully to utilise what is on offer by society."