A CAREERS adviser from Abergavenny has been nominated for a UK award for her work in helping rehabilitate prisoners.

Christine Baker works with offenders at HMP Usk and HMP Prescoed.

She has worked at Careers Wales for 25 years and has been part of the prison programme for the majority of that time, helping individuals into sustainable employment opportunities.

She is among three others shortlisted for the Career Development Institute Career Adviser of the Year award, with the winner to be announced next month at a ceremony in Leeds.

A former inmate Ms Baker worked with, who is now in work, explained how she helped to turn his life around.

“In prison, I honestly thought my working life as I knew it was over,” he said.

“Companies would not touch me as my offence became very public and viral online. I had lost all hope of finding a job that I could put my 16 years of learned expertise to good use.

“I had a meeting with Christine and she immediately put me at ease. She became my light at the end of what was previously a very dark tunnel.

“Now, 15 months later, I am more positive about my future than I have ever been at any point in my working life to date."

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Careers Wales has offered services within prisons for more than 15 years and was involved with 839 inmates in 2018/19.

“Working with prisoners comes with a unique set of challenges. Many of the men have a lot of barriers such as issues with literacy, numeracy and lack of employment history," said Ms Baker.

“While a lot of prisoners are motivated and determined to succeed, they are also often frustrated, because there is no clear career path for them to take whilst in the prison system and upon their release.

“I help them through this process to find that way out, whether that be through education, training, employment or voluntary work.

“Almost all of the people I work with just want to move on in their lives and do something different - but the challenge is finding that ‘different’ for them, so they will stick with it and create a life for themselves and their families in which they are in secure and stable jobs."

To find out more about the support Careers Wales provides offenders and ex-offenders through the Working Wales employment advice service, visit www.workingwales.co.uk