Rickie is 37 years old, originally from Worcester but is currently in a men’s open prison, HMP Prescoed in the village of Coed-y-Paen in South Wales.
After leaving school Rickie joined the Army and then went on to work in the security industry, but unfortunately, due to obtaining a criminal record, he was no longer able to work in this sector.
He then started working in the construction industry on large civil projects as well as on rail infrastructure with companies such as North Midlands Construction PLC, Barhale PLC, RMF Construction, RSS infrastructure, Murphy's and Severn Trent.
In partnership with HMP Prescoed Rickie recently completed a funded training course with The Construction Hub Academy in several plant equipment courses such as CPCS, Forward Tipping Dumper, Dump Truck - Articulated Chassis, and Excavator above 10 Tonne.
Having completed plant and construction courses in the past Rickie said that he was quite surprised at the level of training and the quality of the facilities at The Construction Hub Academy and came away with a sense of pride in that he wasn't just given a trained operator card to progress to his blue competency card, but he had actually earned what he had achieved.
Rickie admitted that he was nervous through the testing phase but the tester who took him through his test, Derek Parry, was clear and concise, which made him feel at ease.
Chris Haggett, Head of Education, Skills and Work, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service in Wales, commented:
"I am a strong believer that supporting prisoners into employment is one of the most important factors that contributes to reducing reoffending. I am proud of the good working relationships that we have with partners such as The Construction Hub Academy, and success stories like that of Rickie’s, are proof that positive change is possible. We are now expanding the current training facilities that we offer in order to provide more opportunities for individuals as part of their reintegration back into the community."
