Interview: The project helping young former inmates find jobs in the blue economy
Europe’s marine sector wants staff, whereas younger former inmates want jobs. “Turning Blue,” an EU-funded undertaking, goals to supply younger offenders a brand new life at sea whereas serving to fill essential business gaps.
European prisons home almost 1.5 million inmates, and in some nations, as much as 70% of them reoffend inside two years of launch. Based on legal justice system consultants, the most effective methods to interrupt this cycle is a gradual job.
Younger offenders pose a selected problem – and current a chance. Throughout Europe, round 15,000 under-18s are behind bars, with 1000’s extra aged 18 to 21. Given the correct assist and coaching, many may flip their lives round and construct lengthy, productive careers.
That’s the imaginative and prescient behind “Turning Blue”: the EU-funded undertaking, operating in 5 nations till 2026, helps younger individuals within the justice system discover jobs within the rising blue financial system – every thing from aquaculture to coastal tourism.
“The blue financial system desperately wants staff,” explains Rita Lourenço, who leads the undertaking at Portuguese social innovation cooperative Aproximar. “In the meantime, we now have many younger individuals within the justice system who battle to seek out jobs due to their background.”
By way of talks, virtual-reality experiences, and conferences with employers, the undertaking introduces inmates to careers they may by no means have thought of. “Most of those younger individuals don’t even find out about jobs within the blue financial system – they’ve by no means had an opportunity to find out about these alternatives,” Lourenço says.
Former inmates face main hurdles when making an attempt to enter the workforce. “Having a legal file creates a stigma. Employers usually discover it exhausting to belief somebody who has dedicated a criminal offense,” explains Lourenço. “Plus, many of those younger individuals haven’t developed fundamental life abilities, and we all know jail isn’t the most effective place to study them.”
The stakes are excessive: with out alternatives, many former inmates fall again into crime. That’s why the undertaking works carefully with prisons and blue financial system companies in Portugal, the Netherlands, Romania, Cyprus, and Italy – providing coaching, mentorship, and direct connections to employers.
“What issues most is giving second probabilities,” Rita Lourenço says. “With out them, these younger individuals will probably reoffend – it’s nearly inevitable. Society must step up and take some duty by creating actual alternatives for individuals who’ve been by means of the justice system.”
