INTRODUCTION

The philosophy of prisons in the past was based on places to carry out

punishment and retribution, but this philosophy began to vanish for many years,

especially after the emergence of humanistic trends, which imposed themselves on

many facilities of lives peoples. There is no doubt that the treatment of prisoners, the

purposes of punishment, and the allocation and classification of prisons. Among the

issues that arise from time to time are to respect the dignity of prison inmates, provide

a suitable environment for their residence, and modify their behavior, which enables

them to return to their communities with positive behaviors.

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), formerly known as Nigerian Prison

Service (NPS), is a government agency of Nigeria which operates prisons. The agency

is headquartered in Abuja, and it is under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior

and the Civil Defence Immigration and Correctional Service. The name was changed

from the Nigerian Prisons Service to the Nigerian Correctional Service by

President Muhammadu Buhari on the 15th of August 2019 after signing the Nigerian

Correctional Service Act of 2019 into law. The bill was passed by the 8th Assembly of

the House of Representatives but the signing was done two months after their tenure

had expired. The law divides the Correctional Service into two main areas which are

The Custodial Service and Non-custodial Service

Prisons are also perceived as a total institution, from the perspective of

framework, Okunola (2008) and Goffman (2006) variously defined the concept in this

manner. Prison is an institution or a walled place unlike free environment or

Goffman (2006) on the other hand conceptualized total institution as where there is a

basic split between a large class of individuals who are restricted to contact with

outside world and stereotypical behavioral pattern where social mobility is restricted.

Yet from the labelling point of view, the prison is a place for vagrants, who may pose

actual danger to social life in the larger society, which pre-supposes that every person

in the prison is a vagrant and irresponsible person. Meanwhile, Ogwokhademhe,

Bolusteve and Adebayo (2014) defined prison as a place delineated and declared by

the law of the state to ensure restraint and custody of individuals accused or convicted

of violating the criminal laws of the state.

Correctional procees in Nigeria correctional center

The concept of correctional institutions developed in a manner that required

successive developments in their capabilities and functions. There has also been a change

in the judgment on the guilty from the viewpoint of the people, thus considering him a

person who has lost his way, and a sick victim who deserves treatment, not a criminal

who deserves punishment. This led to the philosophy of deposition and its nature, and for

it to be transformed from correctional institutions aimed at punishment to institutions

aimed at reform, and that is through providing social, educational and professional care

programs for the inmates of correctional institutions whose main objective is to treat and

reform the offender, and return him to society again as a good citizen capable of serving

himself and his community.

environment on the inmates and the amount of achievement it achieves in order to

achieve the desired aims of its preventive and reform programs. Which are in the interest

of achieving the social integration of the inmate in the environment of the institution in

which he is deposited, then his external community after the end of the sentence or his

release? Moreover, correctional institutions convince the inmate to reject the concepts

and attitudes that formed a factor among the factors that led him to deviation and Show

the guest sound concepts and attitudes that make him have sound thinking and lead him

to the right path.

The educational, vocational, and training curriculum is one of the main axes in the

professional education and training process, therefore these agencies and institutions in

all countries are keen to develop programs and plans which ensure the preparation of the

human element in these countries. Where humans are the most precious possession of

these countries and to have the ability to carry its trust and face their responsibilities. The

educational and training security apparatuses are more in need of adopting a rational

policy in the selection of education and training curricula in them, especially with the

contemporary development recorded by history worldwide in the second half of the

twentieth century, whether in the technical field or patterns of criminal behavior or

ideological shift. Especially since the educational and training return for inmates in

correctional centers does not affect the individual himself, or the institution to which he

belongs. Rather, it extends to the country's development plan due to the close link

between comprehensive security and development. The success of the educational and
training security agencies in performing their mission in preparing, educating, qualifying,

and training inmates with their various responsibilities depends on the extent to which the

educational and training curricula related to the actual work need and values of social,

ethical and economic that are stable in society.

The importance of vocational training for the inmate appears in that it helps him

restore his confidence by benefiting from these training programs on the one hand, and

his commitment to the rules and regulations of the penal institution on the other hand. In

addition to that vocational training for the inmate also leads to his preoccupation, thus, it

avoids falling prey to unemployment, emptiness, and boredom and the resulting physical

diseases and psychological disorders, or engaging in deviant activities, riots, and violence

that do not conform to the aim of detention in prison.

Therefore, inmates are trained and qualified professionally by engaging them in

professional training courses in various fields of work. These professional trainings are

held in most reform and rehabilitation centers and in cooperation with the vocational

training corporation and inmates care associations, according to the latest training

programs. The participants are granted certificates by the institution to practice a

profession without mentioning the word of the inmate or the venue of the session. In light

of the tremendous scientific, professional, and technical progress witnessed by the current

era. Furthermore the emergence of systems, laws, and publications that show how to deal

with the inmates of correctional centers from all social, psychological, and intellectual

aspects. Thus, that requires studying the effectiveness of vocational training programs for

inmates in rehabilitation and reform centers and their impact on their future adaptation by
achieving what society aspires to in terms of reforming and rehabilitating inmates. Then

qualifying them to be active members of society and have a role in its reconstruction and

prosperity

Correction and rehabilitation centers aim at disciplining the inmate to reintegrate

him into a society a person of normal behavior free from inclinations and returning to the

risk of crime. Thus giving him a profession that helps him to live a decent life and earn

his living and the livelihood of his family after his release from the penal institution.

Correction and rehabilitation centers also work to take care of the inmates culturally,

socially, religiously, and healthily, in order to distance them from crime or at least reduce

the chances of re-offending. In addition to exploiting the capabilities of the inmates and

employing them in production and development processes, to improve their living

conditions and to support the national economy. This leads to reducing the cost of crime

to the extent that it achieves this aim, and one of its aims is also to follow up inmates

after their release and return to society. This is to ensure that the integration process is

proceeding correctly in coordination with social and civil bodies and stakeholders.

Among the most important matters that helped to rehabilitate and reform inmates,

a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Public Security Directorate and

the Vocational Training Corporation of the Public Security Directorate, in order to

rehabilitate and reform inmates. For work on transforming them into productive citizens

in society after the end of their sentence, and their exit to working life by rehabilitating

them professionally through the provision of vocational training services. Furthermore

preparing the qualified workforce and regulating the Jordanian labor market, through
training and qualifying the inmates of the reform and rehabilitation centers in vocational

training workshops to become active members of society. Then designing training

programs according to the needs of inmates, implementing and supervising training

programs, and provision trainers male and female. In addition to that, the implementation

of theoretical and practical tests, level tests and issuance of the necessary certificates, and

provision of equipment, fixtures, and furniture in craft workshops as training facilities.

Among the most important vocational training programs in which inmates are

trained are trade and decoration, blacksmithing and metal forming, sewing, dyeing and

ironing clothes, producing bread and sweets, producing chemical detergents, cooking

food, and other professions.

The following is a simple explanation of some of the concerns of vocational

training, including.

Trade and decoration: These workshops are among the best existing workshops

and can work with a high production capacity, and they can open several lines of work at

the same time. In order to provide the human, technical capabilities and the appropriate

location. These workshops operate with a production capacity (95%) of their total

capacity, and train and teach inmates these professions.

Blacksmithing and metal forming: These workshops undertake training and

rehabilitation of inmates, as their production capacity is (90%), and they can work in

more than one production line. in addition, meet some of the public security needs such

as all-metal furniture, beds, and manufacture metal structures for any institution or

ministry.
 Sewing: these workshops tailor all the requirements of public security, including

some clothes, mattress covers, pillows, and any other work, and there are several

machines that work with a good production capacity.

Printing press: There are complete printing machines available, which can print

any models that you require printing in different sizes and shapes. It also works the

binding of all books and magazines, and these workshops can train a large number of

inmates to work on these machines. Chemical cleaners: inmates are trained and operated

in this workshop to manufacture some chemical products and use them in the various

repair and rehabilitation centers.

Bakery and sweets: this operator trains inmates to prepare various types of

sweets, which are sold to their families upon visits, and there is also a bakery for making

bread.

Therefore, those responsible for correctional and rehabilitation centers pay

attention to the aspect of vocational training and rehabilitation because of its importance

in treating and rehabilitating inmates. It also achieves various benefits for the inmate,

including getting used to ordering, commitment, and eliminating feeling insignificant,

which may result from emptiness.

Furthermore, occupied the thinking of the prisoner with things that are useful to

him so that he does not have the opportunity to think about crime or riots, and above all,

qualify the inmate to earn honorable income from the profession that he learns and

masters in prison. In addition to the new values and habits that the prisoner gains from

this professional training, such as self-reliance and confidence, cooperation with others,
acquiring new positive attitudes towards work, colleagues and superiors, and the

formation of sound relations.

On the other hand, unemployment causes the creation of factors leading to crime,

so the modern theory of reform and rehabilitation of inmates gives great importance to

craft education through vocational training in rehabilitation and reform institutions. Some

experts concerned with reform and treatment affairs in correctional institutions believe

that vocational training is a natural entry point to curb crime. Meanwhile, the inmate's

acquisition of a profession from which he can live after his release contributes to bringing

the inmate back to society with a normal personality that denounces the crime and a

return to delinquency. In order for the beneficiary of vocational training programs in

reform and rehabilitation centers to be able to adapt to future conditions, which gives

ecological and human social systems the ability to reconfigure themselves with minimal

loss of function. Where vocational training programs help human social systems to

stabilize social relations, maintain social capital and economic prosperity. Adaptability

can be improved in a number of different ways, including.

Asset base: Provides a variety of key livelihood assets that allow families or

communities to respond to emerging conditions.

Institutions and entitlements: the existence of an appropriate and developed

institutional environment that allows access to major assets and capital and their

entitlement.
 Knowledge and information: The ability of families and communities to

generate, receive, evaluate and disseminate knowledge and information to support

appropriate adaptation options.

Innovation: The system creates an enabling environment to foster innovation,

experimentation, and the ability to explore specialized solutions in order to take

advantage of new opportunities.

Flexible decision-making, governance, and forward-looking: The system can

anticipate, incorporate and respond to changes in management structures and future

planning. Several development interventions such as social protection programs and

efforts to strengthen social safety nets can play important roles in enhancing aspects of

resilience.

Vocational training can be described as any form of educational activity whose

primary purpose is to prepare beneficiaries to acquire skills for gainful self-employment,

self-sufficiency and poverty alleviation. Vocational training in the word of Olaitan (2008)

is a form of education that primarily concerns the development of occupational skills

needed by an individual as a preparation for work. Vocational training according to Davis

et al (2014), can be offered in various trade industries, including barbering, building

maintenance, carpentry, electrical trades, painting, plumbing, horticulture, custodial

maintenance, upholstery, auto detailing, masonry, welding, and heating, ventilation, and

air conditioning. The type of vocational skills acquisition programmes available in a

prison will depend on inmates’ interests, availability of teaching staff, and funding. It is
worth mentioning that the available VST programmes in most Nigerian Prisons according

to Talba (2015) include agro-based skills acquisition, carpentry and joinery work, dress

making, hair dressing, knitting, laundry and dry cleaning services, metalwork, soap and

pomade making skills acquisition programmes. This is to enable prison inmates acquire

skills especially in the area of arts and craft and to become self-reliant after their jail term

and to keep them away from re-entry into prison in the near future. The primary goal of

vocational skills acquisition programme in prisons is to help offenders develop

marketable job skills upon release to the community. Certificates or college credit can be

earned for some vocational programmes in prisons. Hence, for this study, vocational

skills training programme is any form of educational programme whose primary purpose

is to prepare prison inmates for employment in recognized occupations after their jail

term. The prison in question has been a subject of debate among various scholars in the

social science discipline. The concept has been treated from various perspectives, which

include structural and functional dimensions. For instance, Abba and Mbagwu (2016)

described a prison as a physical structure in a geographical location where a number of

people living under highly specialized condition adjust to the alternatives presented to

them by the unique kind of social environment. Similarly, Ogwuoke and Ameh (2014)

conceived prison as a place where people are highly secluded from the rest of the world

with entirely new order of control. The above conceptualizations as advanced by scholars

are limited towards an understanding that a prison is a physical environment, and could

be described geographically or spatially. Quite different from the physical conception,

there are other schools of thought that are based on function, framework and label. From
the functional perspective, a prison is perceived as a place to punish offenders, where

criminals that are removed from the society are dumped to protect the society from

further criminal activities of the offenders: and a place to rehabilitate, and teach offenders

to be law abiding and productive after their release.

From the foregoing, vocational skills acquisition programmes could be regarded as

the aspect of education that gives the recipients an opportunity to acquire practical skills

as well as some basic knowledge which fits the individual for gainful employment in a

recognised occupation as semi-skilled worker, technician or sub-professional. According

to Onweonye, Obinne and Odu (2013), vocational training in prison is considered

essential for the achievement of the purpose of reformation, rehabilitation and

reintegration of discharged prisoners. Reformation and rehabilitation are the current

issues that are central to modern penal-thinking and practices and have been adopted and

implemented in some Nigerian prisons using vocational training.

Hair Styling (Unisex): Hairstylists are an important part of the health and beauty

industry, as they are responsible for cutting and styling clients’ hair. They are highly

skilled in their ability to handle hair, and also have extensive knowledge of the

appropriate products for different hair types. In Nigeria today, hair-stylist are very much

in demand everywhere you go.

Hair Stylists need specific skills to become successful at cutting and styling hair.

These skills may be learned while attending vocational school and while on the job. As a

hairstylist, you are constantly learning and will always want to keep up on the newest
trends to be successful. If you ever dream of starting a beauty salon business someday,

you need to be very skillful and knowledgeable about hairs and hairstyles.

2. Fashion Designing

Style and design go hand in hand. If you’re a good designer, you will also be able

to effortlessly piece fabrics and garments together to create a stunning end product.

Fashion design is a glamorous career – from dressing top models and celebrities to

showcasing at fashion shows across the country across to making and selling ready-to-

wear clothing for the young and adults.

If you are going to be creating and designing your own clothes, learning to draw is

important for you to be able to bring your ideas to life by drawing them on paper. Good

fashion designers don’t just need to be able to bring their ideas to life, but they also need

to have a good eye for detail. Although there’s a lot of pressure that comes with being a

fashion designer, it can also be an extremely rewarding and lucrative career choice.

3. Makeup Artistry

Makeup artistry is a type of vocational skill that brings out the cosmetic “best” in

people making them more beautiful and attractive to the eyes. The beauty industry has

labeled makeup artistry as a goldmine for self-made women by Forbes.

In Nigeria, looking good is good business. There is a boom of makeup artists right

now. Many of which are mostly young female fashion enthusiasts. The need for a

makeup artists may be seasonal and occasional (majorly on weekends) but its a booming

profession for very skillful artists.

to quickly create a clientele. Whether you attend formal classes, watch makeup videos on

YouTube or choose to partake in on-the-job training, acquire unique skills that further

expand your knowledge so that your makeup artist business will make money.

4. Event Planning

Every weekend, hundreds of thousands of Nigerians are attending one event to

another, from weddings to child dedication, to house warming or burials. Event planning

is a type of vocational skill that involves a lot of management and supervision. Being an

event planner is both a rewarding job and rated to be one of the most stressful in the

world. A good event planner needs to know a bit of everything, from catering to

baking to managing resources and personnel.

The long-term success of an event planning business will be based on the

experience that the planner brings to his or her clients. So when it comes to securing a

successful path through the events industry, you’re going to need a diverse set of baseline

event planning skills and a great network of diverse event professionals, such as

caterers, photographers, DJs, bands, lighting, and A/V, décor, video, and beyond.

5. Electrical Repairs

If you have found yourself repairing little electrical appliances in your apartment,

for your friends, family members, and neighbors, then it is high time you think of

acquiring more in-depth electrical repair skills and starting your own electrical repair

business.
 One thing with household electrical appliances is that anyone regardless of how

much they earn can own one, and while some people do not mind replacing their faulty

appliances with a new one, most people would prefer to repair their appliances in a bid to

save money.

Even though this is not a business that requires any sort of formal training before

one can start it, having experience from either vocational training or an apprentice

program will help you have an edge over your competitors.

6. Home Cleaning

Starting a home cleaning business is one of the least expensive ways to become a

business owner. This is a lucrative business in the urban parts of the country as there will

always be homes that need cleaning, and it’s a job people are eager to handoff.

The skills required to become a professional home cleaner are simple and basic

skills that we all pick up in our homes when we were growing up. The only thing to do to

distinguish yourself is to be as professional as possible and get the right cleaning

equipment to make your life easier. You can checkout Nigerian websites

like Fichaya.com for more inspiration.

7. Arts and Crafts

Art and craft are any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and

decorative objects are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. Arts and

crafts describe a wide variety of activities involving making things with one’s own hands.

Arts and crafts is usually a hobby. Some crafts (art skills) have been practiced for

centuries, others are more recent inventions.

Drawing, Weaving, Beading, Sewing, and Shoemaking. Acquiring any of the afore-

mentioned arts and crafts skills will set you up an incredible journey of business as you

can easily beautiful art products and sell them to people that like them.