Our ERASMUS+ project developed an entrepreneurship education program for prisoners, addressing business skills and reintegration challenges through a multidisciplinary approach. A key outcome was a self-paced e-learning course, combining business fundamentals and psychological training to foster motivation and resilience. Accessible during and after incarceration, it ensures continuity in learning. A transnational report advocated for integrated entrepreneurship programs, offering policy recommendations. The project also built life skills for reintegration, covering housing, finances, and family connections, while fostering entrepreneurial intentions. To ensure post-release support, we collaborated with reintegraton organizations to introduce entrepreneurial coaching and developed a coaching tool for reintegration staff. To combat stigma, we launched a public awareness campaign, showcasing success stories of ex-prisoners turned entrepreneurs. This project demonstrated that a holistic approach, integrating business, psychology, and social work, equips prisoners with skills, resilience, and support for self-employment after release.
High recidivism rates show that reintegration efforts often fall short. Employment reduces reoffending, but stigma, lack of qualifications, and weak professional networks hinder ex-prisoners from securing jobs. The PREP project developed an interactive e-learning course to equip prisoners with entrepreneurial skills, offering alternatives to traditional employment. Existing prison entrepreneurship programs focus on business knowledge but overlook psychological and motivational factors, crucial for long-term success. Limited opportunities to apply learned skills before release further hinder transition into self-employment. Our project addressed this by integrating competency-based and psychologically grounded training, combining business skills with mindset development, fostering self-efficacy, resilience, and motivation. A key challenge is the lack of post-release support. Many ex-prisoners struggle to turn knowledge into action. To address this, we linked prison education with post-release mentoring and coaching, ensuring smoother transitions. By collaborating with reintegration organizations, we introduced entrepreneurial coaching into support services, providing long-term guidance.