HMP Dumfries has won the award for ‘Accredited Training Member of the Year' at the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSs) Awards.
The award recognises the prisons’ delivery of high-quality training as well as being the first prison in Scotland to have two individuals in our care trained as BICSc assessors. Alongside staff, the two individuals contribute to the outcomes of the training centre by completing training and assessments with their peers.
The Awards, which are internationally recognised, received 2,000 applications from organisations across the world. We are therefore delighted that Officer Instructor Derek Toms, who was also finalist for ‘International Assessor of the Year’, was able to attend the ceremony to accept the award on behalf of the establishment.
Derek, who joined the SPS as an Officer in 1999, said “I am honoured to have been nominated for the awards by the Scottish Prison Service, and to have been a finalist for the 2024 BICSc assessor of the year award. I am also proud that HMP Dumfries has won the international training centre of the year award and has been recognised as a leader in the Industrial cleaning sector. As an establishment we have given real future employment opportunities to those in our care, and we will continue to improve the skills and confidence of the assessors to train others within the Industrial Cleaning sector."
