New Corrections Commissioner Bryan Payling has pledged to boost flagging work programmes at the prison and is appealing to the private sector to help out.

He said prisoners could be put to work to prepare them better for life on the outside.

Although carpentry is offered at the prison farm and co-ed facility and motor mechanics was offered at the prison farm, the vocational aspect of rehabilitation is suffering admitted Mr. Payling.

"We don't have a good range of skills training up at Westgate. At Westgate the workshops are not being used to full potential. We have difficulties in recruiting skilled instructors.

"One of the things I propose to do is examine how to make better use of that facility.

"I have been asking what could we do or make in those workshops which doesn't threaten anybody's livelihood in Bermuda. What does Bermuda import we might make more economically in the prison workshop?"

He is keen to partner with business but he admitted manufacturing was not big in Bermuda and any operation would do little to offset the $60,000-plus per year costs of keeping one prisoner in jail.

"We do have some highly intelligent and highly skilled individuals in custody ? we want to present them opportunities to develop.

"I would welcome approaches from anyone out in the community who wants to engage in a joint venture.

"In one of my prisons in the UK we made double glazing ? the private company provided machinery, supervisors and raw materials. We provided the workforce.

"They were running a commercial enterprise. We were getting prisoners in the habit of working and developing a marketable skill for when they were released."