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VOL Qualifications and Work: Retraining and Support for Returning to the Labour Market 

  • Pavel X. Rakušan
  • Jan 21
  • 2 min read

VOLONTÉ, in cooperation with the Prison Service of the Czech Republic, is implementing a project that helps low-qualified people serving a custodial sentence strengthen their work skills and prepare for a return to everyday life. The project combines counselling, retraining, and work placements, and it deliberately addresses employability, debt, and legal orientation.


What the project delivers

  • Workshops:

    • Labour market

    • Basics of law

    • Family

    • Financial literacy


  • Employment, legal, and debt counselling, and more.

  • Accredited retraining delivered directly in prisons.

  • Work placements with the possibility of progressing into employment after release (including support with accommodation, depending on interest).


Results and impacts to date

  • Cooperation with 27 prisons.

  • 500 activity participants.

  • 30 insolvency filings submitted.

  • Nearly 100 certificates issued for successful completion of retraining.

  • 1,600 hours of work with participants in workshops.

  • 15 people employed in work placements.


Retraining and courses (selection)

  • Professional qualification “Assistant cook for fast-food dishes” – Světlá nad Sázavou Prison (launched in October).

  • “Barber” course – Všehrdy Prison (juveniles).

  • “Digital literacy” course (handling social benefits online, digital IDs, data mailbox).

  • Forklift truck operation (VZV).

  • Courses for operating chainsaws, brushcutters, and mowers, and more.


Specifics of cooperation with the Prison Service of the Czech Republic

Most activities take place directly in prisons and require close coordination with Prison Service staff in organising the training, securing premises, and selecting and motivating participants.



Statement by the Prison Service of the Czech Republic (authorised wording)

“Jiřice Prison has long cooperated with VOLONTÉ CZECH, o. p. s. in implementing reintegration programmes for convicted persons. These programmes enable participants to increase their professional qualifications through participation in selected retraining courses, which ultimately increases their chances of finding employment on the labour market after release from imprisonment. The projects also offer other forms of support activities.


Among the most important, I can mention active resolution of imprisoned persons’ debt issues through cooperation with debt advisers and, where necessary, the possibility of securing employment with accommodation. Overall, it can be said that the activities of reintegration projects also suitably complement the established programmes for convicted persons, and we perceive the prison’s cooperation with the above-mentioned organisation as appropriate and important. Currently, I can mention the implemented projects VOL Qualifications and Work (VOL Kvalifikaci a práci), reg. no. CZ.03.01.01/00/23_056/0004021, and VOL Comprehensive Employment Programme (VOL Komplexní program zaměstnanosti), reg. no. CZ.03.01.01/00/24_078/0005026, supported by financial resources from the ESF and the state budget of the Czech Republic within the Operational Programme Employment Plus. The convicted persons themselves perceive the opportunity to participate in reintegration projects positively.”


Mgr. Bc. Roman Farkaš, DiS. – specialist in correctional treatment (prison system) – special educator


Project information

  • Registration number: CZ.03.01.01/00/23_056/0004021

  • Implementation period: 1 October 2024 – 30 September 2026


Related outputs


The project VOL Qualifications and Work (VOL Kvalifikaci a práci), reg. no. CZ.03.01.01/00/23_056/0004021, is implemented under the Operational Programme Employment Plus, co-financed by the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic. The project is co-funded by the European Union.

 
 
 

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