Offenders to use skills for good instead of crime

Imran Khan said the trigger for hitting rock bottom was the death of a friend

A man serving a two-year suspended prison sentence for growing cannabis said a scheme to help offenders use their skills to earn "legitimate income" had "turned his life round".

Imran Khan, from Bolton, said he hit "rock bottom" after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), triggered by the death of his friend.

He said turning to crime had cost him his career with the NHS, his marriage and he ended up homeless.

But thanks to a scheme that helps offenders develop skills and even run their own businesses, the 36-year-old has been given the tools he needs to get back into employment.

Mr Khan said he has learn a lot of new skills from his mentor, John Hastings

Research from the Probation Service suggests offenders with steady jobs are 9% less likely to reoffend than those without.

The scheme - Entrepreneurs Unlocked - which is supported by the government, is made up of former prisoners-turned-business owners who go into prisons or meet with people on probation.

Mr Khan's ambassador, John Hastings, runs Recycle IT! which recycles and repurposes electronic equipment and is teaching Mr Khan valuable new IT skills.

Mr Khan is now eight months into his sentence.

The trigger for his decline was a friend's death, he said.

He said he "suffered with PTSD which then pushed me down the route of cannabis use" and "into the realm of criminality" resulting "in me ending up in the Probation Service".

"I lost my marriage, my house, my job, and ended up homeless for about six months," he said.

"This course has been brilliant in terms of allowing me to network better, get back to speaking to people again and calm my PTSD down because working with machines is better than working people sometimes."

"John's a great mentor, I've learned a lot from him, from business skills to IT skills as well as life skills."

For Mr Hastings, running Recycle IT! is a far cry from his troubled youth when he was in and out of prison.

But he broke the cycle when he combined his entrepreneurial skills with a love of computers and he is proud to be an Entrepreneurs Unlocked ambassador.

"Somebody was there to help me change and now it's my turn," he said.

"I've led half my life doing wrong things I want to lead the rest of my life doing right things."

David Morgan said the scheme aims to utilise offenders' skills and help them earn legitimate income

David Morgan, director of Entrepreneurs Unlocked, said: "What we find when we talk to people in prison is that they have skills they might not recognise they have.

"For example, someone who has been in for dealing drugs is very entrepreneurial and they're good at selling customer service and negotiation pricing.

"They can flip those skills around and earn legitimate income, rather than doing something which is illegal," he said.

Julia Owen, a probation officer, said it can be "very difficult" for people leaving prison to get work as there was a "stigma attached to that".

"This is just the type of enterprise that supports individuals that have got that capacity to change and have those skills," she added.