Curriculum
Our Courses
YCG Academy provides a broad range of courses with the real-world aim of developing thinking skills amongst prisoners and securing employment upon release. Prisoners are able to browse these courses and discover more on our in‑cell learning platform.
Recognised Qualifications
YCG Academy provides a range of nationally recognised qualifications, ranging from Level 2 essential skills through to degree level specialisms.
Level 2
Revisit the essentials with our Level 2 courses in English, Maths and ICT.
Level 3 Vocational
Build on learning at Level 2 and start to develop specialisms in areas of interest with access to prison workshops and bootcamps.
Higher Education
Our courses provide direct access to bachelor degrees and include personal tutorials and support for study skills.
Employer-Led Education
Our network of Sponsoring Employers is key to delivering to each of our YCG Citizens™ the prospect of a job on release. YCG Academy works with each Sponsoring Employer to devise and deliver a bespoke training package according to your area of business.
All our online learning is backed by real‑world training to ensure our learners are fully job ready on release. Training takes place both within prison and at your place of work.
Apprenticeships
Utilise existing apprenticeship levy funds to train and support a prisoner with an interest in your area of business.
Workplace Training
Use our platform to deliver your industry-specific courses to your existing workforce.
Special Interest Courses
We have developed a range of special interest courses which are linked to prison life and sentence planning and progression. These next generation courses engender positive engagement and are focussed on establishing and achieving goals.
Strengths-Based Sentence Planning Courses
Designed to complement OMU programmes, these courses assist with recategorisation and release decisions.
Advanced Critical Thinking Courses
Offenders can complement any programmes assigned to them by their Offender Management Unit (OMU) and reduce the risk of them re-offending by undertaking these courses.
Prison Law Course
Our Prison Law Course is an exclusive course available only to prisoners who have been selected to become YCG Caseworkers. This twelve‑week modular course covers all aspects of prison life as well as sentence planning and progression. Following successful completion of the course, YCG Caseworkers provide appointment‑based consultations with stakeholders who need assistance with substantive or procedural matters. YCG Caseworkers are put forward for civil service roles under our Pathways Programme.
About our Courses
All our courses are self-paced, modular and digital. They are designed to assist the path to reintegration and are part of our EETEA model for reducing re‑offending.
Prisoner Apprenticeship Pathway is a major step forward
No more evident that ministers have ‘got it’ as far as joined-up support is concerned are the white paper’s proposals for a new Prisoner Apprenticeship Pathway. This will offer prisoners opportunities that will count towards the completion of a formal apprenticeship on release. Prisoners will have access to the same high‑quality training and education that an apprentice could expect in the community, and will not need to repeat training that they have successfully completed in custody on release, if they can demonstrate competence in the activity they are being trained in during the apprenticeship.