The creation of any volume of new jobs in the Hunter is good news, given the economic climate of the region.
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With mining sector jobs disappearing, economists and business experts from across the region have repeated calls over the past several months for the Hunter to diversify and think beyond the square when it comes to fighting unemployment.
So it’s a welcome announcement that the NSW Department of Corrective Services is creating more jobs and training opportunities for prison officers.
The department exclusively has told Fairfax Media that it planned to create an extra 150 employment places at Cessnock Correctional Centre, among 1400 new positions across the state.
It’s been flagged as the biggest recruitment drive in the department’s history.
Cessnock resident Shenais Morgan (pictured) is one of the new recruits training at the department’s Tomago facility.
She is one of the region’s first cohort of 24 graduates.
“I thought I would give it a go and I was stoked to get the opportunity,” Ms Morgan, 21, said.
“The training facility was very good and the staff were very responsive and approachable. We have been given a lot of tips and feedback to improve ourselves for the job.”
This boost has obvious implications for residents of Maitland, Cessnock and the wide Hunter, where the jobless rate – particularly youth unemployment – is consistently among the state’s highest.
More staff are also necessary, given the state government’s controversial plans to increase Cessnock’s prison population by 1000 inmates. But this announcement should also be considered in the context of another story playing out at the jail.
Almost 10 full time teaching positions at the prison are expected to be slashed to four clerical roles in a move that the Corrective Service Teacher’s Federation has rightly slammed.
The federations has told Fairfax Media in recent months that replacing qualified corrective services teachers with employees who have no experience in the sector, from private companies, could have negative implications for recidivism.
The announcement of so many new jobs for prison officers will, no doubt, raise questions about the need to cut jobs in other vital roles, like those teaching positions that are on the chopping block.
