The final draft of Prison Staff Training Strategy and a relevant Programme were designed by a group of experienced staff from the Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions (DES), probation offices, and various prisons of North Macedonia. Meeting on 27 September 2023, they focused on reviewing the comments provided by the international consultant, which were integrated in the version developed by a team of domestic staffers. These documents set the basis for a regular induction and continuous training aimed at ensuring structured training for the penitentiary system and increasing the overall quality of work of the prison staff.

In addition, 15 prison and probation professionals were trained on presenting skills. Working on 28-29 September in Skopje, the group learned about the phases of a training plan, various approaches to adult learning, writing plans and structuring presentations, evaluating results; they also received practical advice on dos and don’ts. This group of trainers forms the core team of the Prison Training Centre, which has been supported through the Horizontal Facility in the past two years.

These sessions were conducted in the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme ”Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, and its action on “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system in North Macedonia”.