For almost all participants it has been the first time to get in touch with the project. They are excited to see what happens next and would like to be kept informed. The employees from Neustrelitz wanted support in making the topic more relevant to prison management again, also in order to advance the planning of a successor.
The prison in Hameln appeared to be interested in supporting the development of a concept, even if its realisation is less realistic. Contact was also made with the prison educator Mrs Popp from Tegel. She had expressed interest in the topic and was already in contact with the prison in Torgau.
The topic of training certification for inmates was relevant for all participants. What all prisons have in common is that it is rarely possible to complete a full training programme during a prison sentence. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that agricultural work usually takes place in open prison, which is generally only available at the end of a sentence that has already been served. However, as education and training are considered the most important part of resocialisation, proof of acquired skills would be important for prisoners and could facilitate their entry into gainful employment after release.
Certification is problematic for various reasons: The various authorities and chambers would generally have little interest and capacity to issue certifications. These would usually be the chambers of commerce and crafts or the chambers of agriculture. There is also often a lack of interest from the political side, especially in the agricultural sector. However, this varies from state to state.
Thomas van Elsen put forward the suggestion of modularised training modules, as is already common in the field of education for people with cognitive disabilities. This idea was taken up several times by the other participants and was expressed as very interesting and desirable.
Birgit Görne stated that certified qualification modules already exist in Saxony as part of vocational preparation in the field of horticulture and agreed to enquire whether there are comparable modules in the field of agriculture.
Heike Delling was also able to share her knowledge about the situation in Saxony. As part of the specialised practitioner training in Saxony, there are certificates for qualification modules in the green professions, especially for people who are unable to complete full or practical training. The responsibilities here lie with the agricultural office and the state directorate. However, as a certain continuity and qualification of the inmates in the respective areas is a prerequisite, she saw the possibilities here rather in closed prison, as in open prison it would hardly be possible to predict the length of stay and what is aimed for during this time. She stated that a minimum stay of one year was realistic to acquire such a qualification. She suggested developing a kind of basic orientation as to what characteristics such a certificate should have. If the certificate showed that the person had acquired their skills during imprisonment, this would certainly be counterproductive. In this context, she envisioned something like a cross-sector framework recommendation, such as those already developed in the “Lernort Bauernhof” project for the qualification of farm educators. She was also of the opinion that it would be very difficult bureaucratically to develop and recognise qualification modules that could then be used to train specialist practitioners.
