S. China province hopes training will reduce prisoners who re-offend

Prisons in China's southernmost Hainan Province will provide professional skills training for prisoners to help them find jobs more easily after release.

Authorized by Hainan Provincial Personnel and Labor Guarantee Department, Hainan Provincial Bureau of Prison Administration will build a center for professional skills qualification for prisoners, sources from the bureau said on Friday.

Every prison in the province will establish a professional skills training base and provide an office to assist in achieving qualifications, according to the bureau.

"The center will offer a variety of professional skills training to prisoners. Every prisoner who has passes qualification tests will receive a national skills certificate which could be recognized around the country," Gu Guangde, an official with the bureau told Xinhua.

Some ex-convicts re-offend because they can't find jobs without professional skills after being released, Gu added.

"We have found that equipping prisoners with professional skills could really contribute to the social stability," Gu said.

Each prison will provide professional skills training to prisoners in accordance with their individual speciality, according to Liu Jie, another official of the prisoner management of the bureau.

And those who have been issued certificates by the bureau will be registered on the national skilled workers' list, Liu said.

Source: Xinhua