STELCO to provide paid internship opportunities for parolees

State Electric Company (STELCO) has made the decision to provide training and paid internship opportunities for prisoners released on parole, to support the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners into society.  

The Memorandum of Understanding for the parolee internship program ‘Fahi Furusathu’ was signed between Home Minister Imran Abdulla and STELCO’s Managing Director Hassan Mughnee in a ceremony at STELCO headquarters in Male’ on Thursday afternoon.

The MoU is for one year.

According to Maldives Correctional Service, priority for opportunities under the program will be given to parolees who complete skill learning programs at prisons.

STELCO it will provide opportunities for parolees in all 35 islands it operates in, based on available openings.

“If the people who come to us are skilled laborers such as welders, we will assign work based on their skills. If they don’t have additional skills, we will design the work so they can learn skills such as welding. We will be hiring people mainly for labor-intensive work,” said STELCO’s General Manager Ali Mujthaba.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mughnee described the ‘Fahi Furusathu’ program as a great responsibility undertaken by STELCO as a Corporation Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative to support programs to reduce the prison population and rehabilitate and reintegrate prisoners into society.

“A key value of our service, or the basis is work ethic. We believe that, based on code of conduct required of prisoners released under the state parole system, it’s the state institutions that are the link for them to earn a living and reintegrate into society. We believe it necessary for all stakeholders to provide all possible opportunities and cooperation under regulations to facilitate their reintegration into society,” he said.