UK business leaders to drive recruitment of former prisoners

A new government initiative aims to help offenders gain employment by establishing Employment Councils with senior leaders from major companies such as Greggs, Iceland and Cook. These councils will assist offenders serving community sentences in finding work, building on the success of prison employment advisory boards that have connected local business leaders with prisons to enhance education and employment opportunities for inmates upon release.

The councils will help former prisoners seek employment across broader regions, rather than limiting their search to the area surrounding the last prison they were in. Each council will include a representative from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to strengthen connections with local job centres.

The initiative aims to reduce reoffending, which accounts for about 80% of all crime. Research from the Ministry of Justice also indicates that 90% of businesses employing ex-offenders find them reliable and motivated. Employed ex-offenders have a reoffending rate approximately half that of their unemployed counterparts six weeks post release. Lord James Timpson (Minister for Probation, Prisons and Reducing Reoffending) has emphasised that stable employment for former offenders reduces crime and enhances public safety, making business partnerships to employ them mutually beneficial.

The initiative aims to reform social security and reduce poverty. Additional support from the Probation Service and DWP will connect offenders with work coaches at job centres for support, which will include mock interviews, CV advice and training. Baroness Maeve Sherlock, DWP Lords minister, described the initiative as crucial to the government’s Plan for Change, which sets out the milestones the government aims to reach by the end of this Parliament.

Key takeaways for employers

With more than 800,000 job vacancies currently available in the UK, and widely reported skills shortages, employers have much to gain from participating in the initiative. Recent research by prison education provider Novus indicates that more than 80% of the general public view businesses that employ former prisoners positively and perceive them to be making a positive contribution to society.

Last year, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) released a guide designed to support employers and HR professionals in hiring and retaining individuals with criminal records. This guidance can help recruiters improve their strategies for engaging and maintaining employees with convictions. Read more about the guidance here. Supporting individuals with convictions can simultaneously benefit them, your business and society as a whole.