Tartu Prison seeks up to 300 new employees to receive inmates from Sweden

Tartu Prison, largely empty in recent years, will start receiving inmates from Sweden within the next few weeks. Ahead of their arrival, the prison held a career day for prospective employees, and officials say interest in the work has been high.

During the career day, the prison’s exercise yards were turned into workshop areas where visitors could learn about the specifics of working in a correctional facility. Project manager Konstantin Nikiforov said people are mainly curious about what prison work involves, and that renting out the prison will not change the nature of the job. He noted there will be small differences, such as needing some English language skills and dealing with a different culture, but all of this will be taught on site.

The first recruitment drive began in June. So far, around 400 people have responded to the vacancies. Of these, 20 have already been hired and about 70 more are at various stages of the selection process. In total, Tartu Prison plans to take on up to 300 new employees, although the exact number needed will become clear as inmates arrive.

Prison director Merle Ust said inmates will arrive in small groups. By the end of September, around 100 prisoners are expected to be in the prison. The approach will be gradual at first, she explained, so staff can see how everything works in practice and gain experience before accepting larger groups.

The project to house Swedish inmates at Tartu Prison took almost two years to prepare. However, once the agreement entered into force, there was very little time left for the final preparatory work. Ust said the biggest challenge has been the short window between ratification of the agreement and the arrival of the first inmates, during which necessary construction work must be completed. For example, a protective structure behind a television has to be ordered from abroad, which takes time.

According to the current plan, the first inmates are due to arrive in August, though the prison has not yet disclosed an exact date.