Ricoh UK opens print training facility at HMP Onley

Ricoh UK, a leading provider in IT and document services to businesses, offers new digital training academy to get offenders back into work

Ricoh UK, London, 4 April 2017 – Ricoh today announces the launch of its partnership with HMP Onley to help prisoners acquire the necessary skills to re-enter the workplace.

Ricoh UK has been committed to a responsible work ethos for many years, with CEO Phil Keoghan sitting on the tactical leadership team of both The Prince’s Trust and Business in the Community (BITC).

The company has been actively recruiting ex-offenders since 2013, as well as providing employability workshops to various prisons and volunteering days whereby Ricoh UK employees work with prisoners on areas within the prison, such as the allotments, in order to break down the communication barrier and learn from each other’s skills and experience.

Through Business in the Community, Ricoh UK has established a partnership with HMP Onley to work with inmates who are nearing the end of their sentences.

Ricoh UK has responded by setting up the Ricoh UK Digital Training Academy within HMP Onley. This facility will train prisoners on the aspects of technical printing and engineering with a view to offering them a work placement a year prior to release. If successful candidates will be offered a full-time role within the business upon release. They will also complete various externally recognised qualifications in maths, English and customer service. All of which will make them more attractive to employers upon release.

Phil Keoghan, CEO of Ricoh UK and Ireland comments, “At Ricoh UK, we see supporting the community as a key factor of how our business operates and thrives today. Through our work with HMP Onley, we want to help reduce repeat offending in the UK. Providing prisoners with the right training whilst in prison is absolutely imperative to achieving this.”

James Knox, Ricoh UK Community Investment Manager also comments, “We hope this partnership is the first of many as we continue to work with Business in the Community to help transform the justice service in the UK. Our position as a technology services company enables us to provide prisoners with the skills and tools needed to thrive in the digital economy, today.”

Cath Sermon, Employment Director at Business in the Community: “Ricoh’s Digital Training Academy should be seen as the ‘gold-standard’ in employability initiatives for prisoners. It’s a truly innovative solution to accessing quality talent and reducing stubbornly high re-offending rates. Ricoh should be commended for the way in which they have taken this issue to heart following a Seeing is Believing visit, by signing up to Ban the Box and establishing a forward-thinking partnership with HMP Onley. In doing so, they have marked themselves out as a leading advocate in supporting ex-offenders through employment.”

Peter Middleton, Head of Reducing Reoffending at HMP Onley: “This partnership presents an opportunity for us to offer prisoners work-based skills that will increase their employability upon release and help them to not only gain employment but also prevent them from reoffending. We look forward to working with Ricoh and developing an effective partnership.”

The Prisons Minister Sam Gyimah: “I’m delighted to see the Ricoh training centre open its doors for business at HMP Onley. We want prisons to be places of hard work and high ambition, with incentives for prisoners to learn and where prison staff can prioritise education and employment opportunities.

“This is partnership will provide prisoners with the opportunities to gain work on release and turn their backs on crime for good, and I look forward to visiting the workshop in the coming months.”

| About Ricoh |

Ricoh is a global technology company specialising in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in about 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2015, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,231 billion yen (approx. 18.5 billion USD).

The majority of the company's revenue comes from products, solutions and services that improve the interaction between people and information. Ricoh also produces award-winning digital cameras and specialized industrial products. It is known for the quality of its technology, the exceptional standard of its customer service and sustainability initiatives.

Under its corporate tagline, imagine. change. Ricoh helps companies transform the way they work and harness the collective imagination of their employees.

For further information, please visit www.ricoh.co.uk

About Business in the Community

Business in the Community is The Prince’s Responsible Business Network. Our members work together to tackle a wide range of issues that are essential to building a fairer society and a more sustainable future. We are a business-led, issue-focused charity with more than 30 years’ experience of mobilising business. We engage thousands of businesses through our programmes driven by our core membership of over 800 organisations from small enterprises to global corporations.

One of our strategic priorities is increasing access to good quality employment for people facing disadvantaged in the labour market. We do this by directly supporting individuals into work through practical business-led programme and by breaking down the barriers in employer’s recruitment practices through targeted campaigns.

To find out more visit www.bitc.org.uk