Prisoners to plug worker shortage in meat industry

 

Meat industry leaders held talks with the government on Monday to discuss options of how businesses could link up with prisons to fill vacancies.

The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers told the BBC the industry had about 14,000 job vacancies currently.

It said Covid, Brexit and perceptions over career paths had caused a looming "recruitment crisis".

The industry body said businesses would seek to link up with prisons that contain prisoners who are part of the Release On Temporary Licence (ROTL) programme.

ROTL is a risk-assessed temporary release programme that inmates in open prisons use to gain work experience to help them in their transition back into the community...MORE