“If you came into the depot today and looked round, you wouldn’t know who was who,” says Dave Bamford, director at All Mac Surfacing. “Everyone is happy to be there and everyone is treated the same.”
Yet some of his team are ex-offenders, and some are still in prison. This innovative programme contributes to the rehabilitation of the recently incarcerated through road repairs - read on to find out more about Dave’s vital work.
An Opportunity For A Second Chance
Since late 2019, Dave has recruited 12 people from Thorn Cross Prison in Warrington to work for All Mac Surfacing on its highway repair and maintenance teams. The idea behind the programme is that people gain experience and skills while still in prison so that they are employable when they leave. All Mac Surfacing partners with Thermal Road Repairs, operating our technology to deliver quality pothole and asphalt repairs across a number of contracts, including our Manchester City Council contract.
Dave decided that he wanted to work with offenders after hearing about a similar scheme in Rochdale, where he is a councillor. “It’s about rehabilitation,” he says. “When people come out of prison, they struggle to find work and so they reoffend. The majority of people have made a mistake and have been caught. I believe everybody deserves a second chance.”
Of the 12 people Dave has recruited, who range in age from early 20s to late 50s, seven are now out of prison, with four still working for All Mac Surfacing. The other three are also working, in jobs that Dave helped them to find and which suit them better, mostly because they are closer to their homes. Five of the 12 are still in prison, working on day release, and two decided that the sector was not for them.
Dave’s approach to selecting people is not to grill them but to find people who he thinks will enjoy the work. “It’s more about listening than interviewing, trying to work out what sort of work would suit them,” he explains.
Inside The Road Repair Scheme
The prisoners leave Thorn Cross, which is a Category D or ‘open’ prison, each day to come and work with All Mac Surfacing. All Mac usually operates three-person teams on a Thermal Road Repair unit but, while the new starters are training, there will be a fourth team member. When they have been signed off as competent through TRR’s formal training process, they move to be in a three-person team.
Dave says that all his team members are happy to work with the ex-offenders. “I explain to everyone what’s going on and they all have a positive reaction,” he says. “We don’t treat anybody any differently.”
For the first 12 weeks, All Mac pays the recruits a training wage which then rises to minimum wage, with the prison taking a proportion of their wages. When they are released from prison, they are paid a full wage, taking on the role they have gained the skills and competency for.
Supporting Ex-Offenders With Their Mental Health
As well as giving ex-offenders the chance to support themselves financially, working with All Mac Surfacing is helping some to improve their mental health, says Dave. He has seen people go from feeling worthless and weighed down by guilt to having hope and feeling that they could have a useful future.
There will also be knock-on impacts which aren’t easy to see or measure. For instance, relationships with family members may be improved, children will have a wage-earning role model, and the cost to health and social care budgets will be reduced.
Dave is now working to match up offenders with other local companies. “My advice to any company considering this would be to do it: give somebody a second change. We are all human beings.”
Thermal Road Repairs: Modern Pothole Solutions & Motorway Maintenance
At Thermal Road Repairs, we supply innovative maintenance equipment designed to improve the quality of road repairs at a reduced environmental cost. We’re proud to be partnered with All Mac Surfacing, where we share Dave’s passion for the ex-offender rehabilitation programme. Get in touch with us today to find out more about our road care services.