Convicts Upskilling Pathways [CUP]

The project is an experimental learning initiative aimed at designing and piloting innovative training modules and monitoring tools for the upskilling of people in prisons to promote the social reintegration of prisoners. The Convicts Upskilling Pathways (CUP) project aims to enhance the medium to long term employability and the social reintegration of 210 female and male convicts in six European prisons in Italy, Greece, Cyprus and The Netherlands.

The project has developed:

1. An advocacy handbook: Advocacy in prison education related topics is essential to correct misunderstandings, build commitment and facilitate actions that instigate systemic changes within the penitentiary systems. CUP aims at promoting a shift of attention by designing an advocacy toolkit that will offer engaged and willing policy makers, professionals, institutions and third sector organizations specific tools to make the case for prison education addressing non-engaged audiences.
2. A skills development blueprint: This is a set of learning modules based on a mix of soft skills (personal abilities used to interact with, interpret or inform social and physical environments e.g. customer relationships, time management, resource management, resiliency), basic skills (e.g. reading, writing, maths, ICT skills), and technical skills (skills related to specific areas of work e.g. tailoring, carpentry, cooking, gardening etc.) that will give convicts/ex-convicts easier access to work.
3. And others