Unlocked Graduates exists to break cycles of reoffending. Currently, prison is not able to do this, and over 50% of prisoners released from short-term sentences reoffend within a year. Not only does this recidivism make our communities less safe, but it also has a significant human and social impact. And it’s expensive, costing the taxpayer over £23bn every year. But, to a large extent, it’s preventable.
Prisons must give people the support they need to focus on rehabilitation in order to reduce reoffending. We believe the transformative relationships between prison officers and prisoners are key to this. Prison officers are the agents of change within prisons, and they are the only professionals able to reach all prisoners, including the most vulnerable.
Since 2017, Unlocked has sought to lead this change by recruiting, training and challenging nearly 900 ambitious graduates to become outstanding prison officers and high-performing leaders across 38 different prisons in England and Wales. Our award-winning, two-year graduate leadership development programme is creating a generation of leaders who believe that rehabilitation is possible, breaking cycles of reoffending in prisons and throughout society.
Unlocked’s unique training and support model gives our participants the skills and expertise they need to be excellent prison officers, lead rehabilitative change and drive improvements across the system. Our curriculum has been developed by our expert trainers who take an evidence-led approach, applying the most effective teaching and learning methods.
In 2024, we launched Unlocked ChangeMakers, a leadership development programme that aims to transform the quality of middle leadership in the prison service. This programme builds on the success of our graduate programme and provides training and support to custodial managers, enabling them to drive rehabilitative change in their prisons.
Unlocked has put the prison officer role on the map as a career where people can develop extraordinary leadership skills whilst making a real difference. We have raised the status of the role, and Unlocked’s graduate programme features in the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers list. We are recognised in the UK and internationally for the impact our participants are having on the landings.
To find out more, please visit our website: unlockedgrads.org.uk/