Prisoners in England and Wales will have the opportunity to enter apprenticeships or get trained in “skills of the future,” the government has said on Friday. Writing in The Times, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab and Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said they’re working on introducing apprenticeship programmes into prisons so offenders can turn their lives around and fill the gap in the labour market. They also said new prisons are being built with in-cell technology and modern workshops, to equip offenders with in-demand skills. The ministers said employed ex-offenders are up to 9 percent less likely to re-offend, but only 14 percent can get employed within six months of their release, and they’re currently unable to access apprenticeships that will help them be job-ready upon release. The ministers said they have “introduced a presumption that prison governors work towards offering suitably vetted and appropriate prisoners work opportunities across the whole prison estate. …