Bury St Edmunds-based Greene King expands its Releasing Potential prison leaver scheme with two new kitchens at HMP Onley, in Northamptonshire, and HMP Perth

A town brewery and pub group has expanded its scheme which helps prison leavers find employment.

Bury St Edmunds-based Greene King announced on Monday it was opening two new training kitchens in HMP Onley, in Northamptonshire, and HMP Perth, in Scotland, as part of its Releasing Potential scheme.

The new spaces will allow up to 60 prisoners a year to develop new skills in hospitality, from food preparation to customer service, with the goal of offering employment once they leave custody. The sites emulate Greene King kitchens and deliver accredited training programmes through a mix of classroom learning and practical sessions.

Nick Mackenzie, Greene King CEO, said: “The new kitchens are a vital next step in our Releasing Potential programme that is helping to provide prison leavers with the skills they need to build careers in hospitality and successfully rehabilitate. “

“I’d like to thank to all of those who have worked hard behind the scenes in making this possible and I look forward to welcoming more candidates to the Greene King family thanks to the academies and programmes.”

Greene King works with more than 65 prisons across the country on support for prisoners to develop industry skills to prepare them to potentially work in Greene King pubs.

It was one of the first employers in the country to take part in a pilot programme offering apprenticeships to prisoners in open prisons in October 2022.

Earlier this year, the first apprentice through the programme, who started while they were in custody, became a full-time kitchen team member for the pub group.

Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, said: “Greene King are recruiting in a way that changes lives and can be good for business too.

“Releasing Potential is the perfect name: many people who leave prison have the potential to become great colleagues. They can be hard working, reliable and committed to doing a great job.

“We know what a difference an opportunity makes to people and their families too.

As well as serving a business need, prison leaver employment programmes are popular with the public.

A recent Opinium survey found nearly 70 per cent of Brits support such schemes and 30 per cent believe skills and training for employment is the best support to prevent reoffending.

Terry, a kitchen team leader and Releasing Potential participant, said: “While I was in custody, I was very uncertain as to what the future may hold.

“I heard about Greene King and opportunities for prison leavers from a member of the kitchen team. I needed to commit to something in relation to work and I’ve always enjoyed cooking so I decided to take part in the programme.

“I’d never held down a job for longer than three months before so was very nervous about the role. But now I’ve been here for more than five years.”