Balfour Beatty/Scottish Prison Service

William was introduced to Balfour Beatty by Wayne Lawson, the Reintegration & Employment Officer at HMP Perth.

Wayne described the potential employment opportunity as involving two weeks of work experience. The Department of Work and Pensions’ Prison Work Coach provided extra motivational advice and arranged post release financial support. William jumped at the opportunity. He had already obtained his CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) card at HMP Perth. William attended a six week pre-release course. This course allows people to prepare for life after prison and attain SQA qualifications. William highlighted the cooking day of the pre-release course as his favourite, it allowed him to make food he enjoyed and taught him how to live on a budget along with many other life skills.

William attended interview upon release with Balfour Beatty which he described as “relaxed,” which was good as it demonstrated he was comfortable in the interview environment. After the interview, William was offered the full two weeks of work experience.

From the induction it was quite hands on and fast paced. The construction industry required William to keep working until the task was finished, developing a strong work ethic. The hard work was accompanied with long hours which was the most difficult obstacle for William as in his own words, “It’s probably the longest I’ve ever worked,” so having to adjust to a long working day on top of having to be up early enough to get to work for a 6:30 am start was quite an onerous task.

After the two weeks were over, William was assisted with the on-boarding process with recruitment agency Search – a supplier of personnel for Balfour Beatty. Ken Brown, a project manager at Balfour Beatty made a few calls due to the good performance of William as well as positive feedback from his supervisors, resulting in William returning to Balfour Beatty for a permanent role.

William would recommend following the same route he went down and stressed the importance of the pre-release course and obtaining a CSCS card.

William is happy and enjoying where he is at Balfour Beatty and is looking to progress in his job. He hopes to start working with some tools in the coming months.

“I wish we had a guy like Willie back”

Ken Brown, Balfour Beattie Project Manager