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Prison instructor

Prison instructors teach prisoners new skills to help them find work after their release.

Annual Salary

£18,000 to £29,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

37 to 39 a week

You could work: between 8am and 6pm; eve

2.9%
Future employment

There will be 2.9% more Prison instructor jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In your day-to-day duties, you could:

  • act as a role model for prisoners
  • introduce new prisoners to the workshop health and safety rules
  • update prisoners' learning and attendance records
  • support prisoners working towards qualifications
  • monitor discipline and behaviour
  • search prisoners using 'rub down" or "pat down" method
  • keep the workshop area and tools safe and in working order
  • maintain stocks of equipment and materials

Working environment

You could work in a prison.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time and physically and emotionally demanding.

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
College

You'll need, or be prepared to work towards, a level 3 vocational qualification in your subject area or trade.

You may find it useful to do qualifications in assessment, like the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement.

Entry requirements

You may need:

  • GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • funding advice|https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-help
  • search for courses|/find-a-course

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

Further information

Find out more about working for HM Prison & Probation Service and about specialist production instructor roles in:engineering; waste management; textiles; horticulture

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You could move up to industries manager or other management roles within the prison service.

You could change to other areas of training or instructing.

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Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • the ability to teach pupils how to do something
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to create the best conditions for learning or teaching new things
  • customer service skills
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • the ability to work well with others
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
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