Stefan Bradley
YOU COMPLETE your time and leave prison, but then what? For Fulham Correctional Centre prisoners, career-creating cows are the answer.
Men at Fulham Correctional Centre nearing the end of their sentences have been undertaking intensive dairy industry training in a pilot program offering live-in employment opportunities post-release.
On Tuesday August 6, six prisoners from the Nalu minimum-security unit graduated from the second of four Cows Create Careers programs to be held at the correctional centre. This follows the inaugural course held in April this year, with three of the first participants already securing work.
This is the first time the Cows Create Careers (CCC) program – developed in South Gippsland by the Lions Club of Strezlecki and running in schools nationally since 2004 – has been delivered directly to prisoners to train future dairy industry employees.
The program is being facilitated at the privately managed correctional centre under a new partnership between GEO, the Gardiner Foundation, GippsDairy and Jaydee Events.
Throughout the intensive three-week course participants undertake practical and theoretical topics on the dairy industry. These include biosecurity, rearing healthy calves, farm safety, farm technology, and career options.
At Nalu, the men learn how to care for three-week-old calves brought onsite – gaining skills on how to feed, clean, weigh and walk them, as well as completing a health checklist and general maintenance of pens and equipment. Through external site visits, the men learn milking and see first-hand working dairy farms.
Fulham Correctional Centre General Manager Natalie Greenfield said: “We are excited to have been the first correctional centre in Australia to integrate the Cows Create Careers into our vocational education and services curriculum.
“With one man already living and working on a farm, and two preparing for their release with jobs already secured, this program is already demonstrating its benefits.”
Minister for Corrections Enver Erdogan presented graduates with their certificates and made a speech.
“This program offers men in custody a practical opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge of the dairy industry,” Mr Erdogan said.
“It’s fantastic that men will leave prison with this enriching experience that can boost their employment opportunities and help reduce their risk of returning to prison.
“We know how important employment is in being a protective factor in reducing recidivism and making our community safer.”
CCC is funded by the Gardiner Foundation and GippsDairy with support from local dairy farmers and dairy industry course facilitators.
Veronica McLeod, who is the Extension Team Leader and Facilitator at GippsDairy, said she was passionate about helping dairy farmers find workers, and that the program was helping achieve that.
“We’ve got guys here (at Fulham) participating in the program who already have a wide range of skills that can definitely help dairy farmers,” Ms McLeod said.
“And then we can in turn teach them skills around the dairy industry.”
The graduates praised the variety of hands-on work and the unexpected use of modern technology, as well as the opportunities the program will grant them on release.
“There’s a lot of new technology and new things going on in dairy farms. It’s good to go out and meet farmers…and rehash the basics on farming,” one of the prisoners said.
Another prisoner said they signed on to the program to learn more about cows, in anticipation of working on farms in the future.
“I thought I’d find out how much is involved to rear calves.”
Prisoners like him who wake up at 3am most mornings, have consistent routines and are well-suited to the hours of farm work.
GEO’s Acting Managing Director, Dr Frank Thorn said providing the men in their care with tangible skills to support their employment post-release is a critical part of delivering correctional services.
“The more we can do to support the men in our care towards meaningful employment and accommodation when they leave custody and develop a sense of purpose, the less likely they are to reoffend,” he said.
“The enormous effort of our staff at Fulham Correctional Centre, GippsDairy and all of the people involved in bringing this program to life within a prison setting is to be commended.”
GippsDairy’s Regional Manager, Karen McLennan was pleased to see that the participants have been engaged and motivated to learn skills in dairy.
“This program has the benefit of not only supporting these men to find meaningful, long-term employment, but also supporting our farmers by offering a new way of attracting workers to the industry,” Ms McLennan said.
Gardiner Foundation Chief Executive Allan Cameron said, “We are proud to support the Cows Create Careers initiative at Fulham Correctional Centre.
“This program provides valuable opportunities for post-release individuals by fostering new skills and career pathways. Our goal is to support brighter futures and instil renewed hope in the lives of its participants.
“The dairy industry is crying out for rural people to roll their sleeves up and get involved.”
Mr Erdogan said the program could be rolled out further to other minimum-security prisons, but would need to be tailored for each cohort.
Asked about housing for prisoners during a housing crisis, Mr Erdogan said the state government had invested in transitional housing and “a big housing bill” that will build thousands of homes across the state.
“Hundreds of which will be in the Latrobe Valley region,” he said.
Ms McLeod said the CCC program will play a part in alleviating housing concerns for prisoners who have finished their sentences.
“Not all dairy farmers, but we do definitely have some larger farms that definitely have the ability to offer some housing,” Ms McLeod said.
“Whether it’s shared housing or independent housing for families on farms as part of their package.”
