Organisers of a Winchester Prison custody-to-work scheme say they have a raft of willing employees - and now they just need companies to take them on.

Janette Powell, community resettlement manager at the prison in Romsey Road, is convinced that ex-offenders make loyal, dedicated and hard-working employees.

She is spearheading a pilot project to help ex-prisoners back to work and has organised a two-day conference on housing and jobs.

Now she needs employers to climb on board and attend.

"Many companies may never have heard of the benefits of taking on ex-offenders," said Janette.

"They are skilled, often local. They are more likely to stay in that job because it means more to them.

"People are motivated when they leave the prison. If they have put a lot of effort while they're here to get a job they're more likely to stick at it."

Custody to work, which was set up last year, aims to give prisoners the same chance of landing a job as anyone else.

Janette and her team offer advice on CVs, interview technique and filling in applications. They hope managers will soon be able to visit prison to interview potential employees.

They are keen to link up with companies to organise training, workshops and ultimately, jobs.

"Building labourers, call centre staff, mechanics, plumbers - they're all dead certs for ex-offenders," said Janette. "They can start courses while they're in prison, and because most here are on short sentences, they can continue it when they leave. It gives some structure to their day once they're out and can act as a bridge."

But if a job is to work out, ex-offenders also need somewhere to live.

"Time and time again, people say they need somewhere safe so they don't have to worry about where they will sleep that night.

"If that's not the case they can end up going back to places where they know they shouldn't, just because they will have a bed for the night," said Janette.

"Housing and employment is the only way to keep people legally busy."

Scores of housing officials will also attend the conference to thrash out ideas on how to re-home ex-offenders.

"This kind of approach is the only way to stop offenders repeatedly turning up in prison," said custody-to-work officer, Roger Falkman.

He has worked at Winchester Prison for 18 years and is well used to the cycle of events that routinely bring young men under his care.

"There's no point putting them behind a door and throwing the key away," he said. "The idea is to give them some idea of what's required when they go back into the outside world.

"If we carry on with what we have been doing for the last 150 years they will keep coming back. We will be looking for a new prison in Winchester, and it will be twice the size of this one."

The two-day resettlement conference, called Unlocking Potential, takes place on April 29th and 30th at Sir John Moore Barracks, in Littleton, near Winchester. Housing will be discussed on the first day, followed by employment on the second.

For more information call 01962 854 494, ext 435.