Innovative Solutions in Correctional Education and Employment: The Western Australian Model

Western Australia is, geographically, the single largest corrective services jurisdiction in the world. As such, it presents multiple challenges for the delivery of education, employment, and transitional services to a prisoner population spread throughout 17 prisons (and 1 privately run prison) and additional 7 work camps across 2.5 million square kilometers. Despite this, in the last 30 years, there has been considerable innovation in multiple areas of delivery. This webinar describes the Western Australian model of delivery, through its Education, Employment and Transitional Services (EETS) division, outlining the pathways for prisoner learners from assessment through to its national award-winning traineeships program and other new initiatives such as the Entry to General Education curriculum now owned by the Department of Justice WA’s own RTO, ASETS and the Prisoner Employment Program (PEP). This webinar also describes our partnerships with employers and tertiary providers to enable wider access to education, training, and employment pathways for people in custody.

Presenter bio: Dr Fiona McGregor is currently working as External Partnerships Coordinator for Education, Employment and Transitional Services (EETS) within the Department of Justice WA after completing her PhD which explored the relationship between engaging in adult basic skills learning in prison and desistance from crime, Fiona is passionate about the value prison education, training and employment bring to the desistance process and works to engage external partners to widen access to high quality learning, training and work experiences for people in custody in WA.

Fiona has over 30 years’ experience in education (20 in prison education), originally as a secondary school English teacher and then a prison educator, manager, government adviser, consultant inspector and researcher. Initially specialising in juvenile and young adult male offender education in UK and Australian prisons, Fiona has developed a deep interest in women in prison and Indigenous Australians, who are the most incarcerated people on earth, and is committed to equity and inclusion.

When not at work, Fiona is generally an uber, feeding and banking service for 3 busy kids, their animals, and friends.