Building Skills and Social Value Through Industry at HMP Millsike
April 27, 2026Posted by:
How partnership is creating real work and future opportunities at the UK’s first all-electric prison.
HMP Millsike, managed by Mitie Care & Custody, is the UK’s first all-electric prison, designed with sustainability, safety and purposeful activity at its core, helping prisoners leave qualified, employable and ready to integrate and contribute to society.
PeoplePlus delivers education and industry across the prison, ensuring that learning connects directly to real work. One of the early partnerships to take shape is with Greenham, part of the Bunzl Group, a national supplier of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and branded workwear.
Together, Greenham, Mitie Care & Custody and PeoplePlus have created a working production line inside HMP Millsike. Men in the workshop are heat-sealing logos onto garments that go directly into Greenham’s supply chain. This is skilled work that requires precision, consistency and trust.
From SRAG to the workshop floor
The partnership began through PeoplePlus’ Social Recruitment Advocacy Group (SRAG), where employers explore how to turn social value into practical action.
Mark Ward, HR Director, Bunzl Safety and Workwear Division, had been attending SRAG sessions and was familiar with the PeoplePlus approach.
“Liz Squire (Head of Employer Engagement, PeoplePlus) told me about HMP Millsike and the opportunity to get involved,” he says. “I wanted us to do something that made a real difference. It made sense from every angle.”
Greenham already had experience supplying Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) into the prison estate, which meant the setting and standards were well understood. From there, the relationships built through the SRAG helped turn that understanding into an opportunity at HMP Millsike.
“PeoplePlus and Mitie Care & Custody were open and responsive from day one. Everything came together smoothly.
What followed was a straightforward but well-supported transition from idea to delivery, connecting Greenham with the PeoplePlus team on site and building the process together.”
Building the process
At HMP Millsike, that responsibility sat with Rizwan Maqsood, PeoplePlus Industries Instructor. With a background in textile engineering and project management, he worked with Greenham’s team to design the workshop.
“We planned everything before we started - the flow, the deliveries, the quality checks,” Rizwan says. “Then I came back and built it step by step with the men taking part in the project.”
The workshop now runs with two heat-seal machines and a small, trained team. Each person undertakes multiple roles, from preparing garments to applying logos and packing completed orders.
“I stood right beside them at the beginning,” Rizwan explains. “Showing them millimetre by millimetre how to place things correctly. It may look simple, but it needs real precision. It is easy to get it wrong and ruin a garment”.
To support consistency, he created templates for each garment and size. The result is a process that delivers both quality and confidence.
A working week that feels real
The structure of the work is as important as the output.
“The lads work five days a week, doing morning and afternoon sessions,” Rizwan says. “There are brew breaks, a bit of chat, but we keep a focus on the work. That’s what helps create a positive atmosphere.”
The team rotates roles, supports each other and takes shared responsibility for quality.
“They help each other out. It’s a working culture, not just a workshop.”
That culture shows in the results: 1,000 garments per week, with 98% accuracy and consistent delivery standards.
“The work is actually quite therapeutic,” Rizwan adds. “You see the result straight away in a clean, precise finish. They take pride in that.”
What it means to the men
HMP Millsike is a Category C resettlement prison focused on preparing prisoners for release through education, rehabilitation and purposeful activity that support reintegration into the community. This work delivers long-term benefits for individuals and society, helping build routine, responsibility, confidence and skills that support future employment and reduce reoffending.
As Rizwan puts it:
“The men here have learned precision, teamwork and discipline - things they can talk about in an interview. It’s real, and it’s employable.”
Delivering for business
For Greenham, the impact is equally clear.
“The guys have picked it up fast,” says Naomi Griffiths, Branding Manager. “The communication with Rizwan has been brilliant. We’ve worked together to keep everything flowing smoothly.”
For Mark, the bigger picture matters too.
“It’s a partnership that benefits everyone. We’re strengthening our operation while creating real opportunities. That’s how it should work.”
A model that can grow
The project has already shown that this model is practical, scalable and repeatable.
Greenham is exploring how it could be extended to other locations, while PeoplePlus continues to build industry partnerships across a growing prison network.
Ideas such as adding a recognition label to garments could help tell the story more widely. By connecting customers to the people behind the work, the value of employment-led rehabilitation could be more widely understood.
A shared achievement
The Bunzl-Greenham, Mitie Care & Custody and PeoplePlus collaboration at HMP Millsike represents best practice in rehabilitative employment. This is a model that can inform future industry partnerships across the prison estate.
It has been made possible through relationships built over time, clear communication and a shared commitment to doing the work properly.
What has been created at HMP Millsike is simple, but not easy: meaningful work done to a commercial standard, in an environment where achievement matters and future doors can be opened.
To explore how to create social value through working with people in prison, contact us at [email protected]
April 27, 2026Posted by:
