The UK prison service is recruiting officers from Nigeria and other countries to fill gaps in staffing.
This marks the first time the government has sponsored skilled worker visas for overseas recruits, following a change in the rules.
The move to recruit prison officers from abroad comes as the prison service struggles to fill vacancies. Many of the overseas recruits are from Nigeria, and some are switching from other visa routes.
According to The Telegraph, the prison service has faced difficulties in managing the accommodation needs of these new recruits, with some even resorting to sleeping in their cars or camping near their places of work.
Reports cite that prison officers recruited from overseas have encountered significant challenges when it comes to accommodation.
President of the Prison Officers Association (POA), Mark Fairhurst, shared the story of one foreign recruit who was commuting 70 miles from Huddersfield to Nottingham for work but eventually chose to sleep in his car to save money on accommodation.
In another case, a group of recruits set up camp in a wooded area opposite a prison after discovering that no housing was provided as part of their employment.
“We have got problems with people who turn up at the gates with cases in tow and with their families saying to the staff: ‘Where is the accommodation?’,” said Fairhurst.
According to reports, the UK prison service began sponsoring skilled worker visas for foreign nationals after a change in immigration rules in October 2023.
The changes made prison officers eligible for the skilled worker visa list, which allowed them to recruit internationally.
While the recruitment of overseas staff has helped fill vacancies, it has led to some difficulties within UK prisons. president of the Prison Governors Association (PGA), Tom Wheatley, mentioned that certain prisons have faced challenges due to the high number of foreign recruits, particularly in remote rural areas.
Issues with integration into local communities and language barriers have also been reported. “It’s turned into an approach that has been promoted online by the expat Nigerian community,” Wheatley said.
Despite the increase in foreign recruits, concerns have been raised over the recruitment and training process. Mark Fairhurst criticized the prison service’s policy of conducting interviews over Zoom and hiring officers without face-to-face interactions. He argued that this method, coupled with just six weeks of training, is insufficient to prepare recruits for managing prisoners effectively.
As the UK prison service turns to international recruitment to address staffing shortages, the challenges of accommodation, integration, and training remain key concerns.
The recruitment process and its impact on the quality of prison staff continue to be monitored, with ongoing reviews of policies and practices.