Timpson to use prisons to for photo processing
MANCHESTER-based shoe repair to key cutting chain Timpson is to carry out photo processing work for its Max Spielmann chains in prisons as part of the work it does in re-integrating offenders into society.
Plans for the photo-processing business, which will be based at HMP New Hall women’s prison near Wakefield in West Yorkshire have already been approved and the unit is now in its planning phase.
It is hoped that the unit will give the women in the prison confidence and skills and could lead to the prisoners being offered jobs on release. It is an extension of the work carried out in male prison workshops. Timpson currently employs 89 ex-offenders who trained at prison workshops.
“The business is growing very quickly so I always have room for more staff,” said managing director James Timpson.
“I’m starting to recruit ex-offenders for other retailers as well, so in the future all the jobs might not be for us specifically, but we’ll still be providing jobs in retail.
“I think the whole corporate agenda is moving towards this approach. Social enterprise is now becoming much more relevant, it’s seen as something that’s good for the business, but also good for society.
“I find the staff we’ve recruited from prisons are among the best colleagues we’ve got,” said Timpson. “We see this as a great way of not only helping people but of getting people to work for us.”
Timpson recruited its former prisoner eight years ago when he recruited a young offender who impressed him during a visit to HMYOI Thorn Cross.
“When he was released I gave him a trial and he’s been with us ever since,” he said. “Now ex-offenders make up about four per cent of our staff,’ he says.
Since then, the firm has set up a workshop at HMP Liverpool and it trains 12-14 prisoners at any particular time. A second workshop opened at HMP Wandsworth last year.
Timpson bought 187 stores from the administrators of Glasgow-based Max Speilmann and Klick Photoprocessingin December 2008 for £1.3m. In the year to September 30, 2009, the stores contributed to a 29% rise in Timpson Group’s sales to £124.6m.
