By Samantha Jones-
The number of former offenders in work 6 weeks after release has increased by nearly 50%, a year after Employment Advisory Boards were established , matching business bosses to prisons to provide advice on job skills.
In a further boost to the scheme, Greggs has become the latest household name to sign up, joining the likes of TalkTalk and Lotus Cars in helping governors to ensure that offenders are job-ready when they walk through the prison gate.
The government is now on track to roll out boards to all 91 ‘resettlement’ prisons by spring 2023, with 50 already up and running across England and Wales, crucially tackling the £18 billion annual cost of reoffending and protecting the public, with ex-prisoners in steady employment being nine percentage points less likely to commit further crime.
Ensuring work for offenders is a positive way of preventing re-offending, by keeping ex criminals occupied in legitimate work, rather than being free to roam the streets and commit further crimes.
The Prisons White Paper was published in December 2021 as part of the Government’s strategy for reducing reoffending by increasing employment rates among ex-offenders.
In it, the Ministry of Justice set out to maximise opportunities for offenders to turn their lives around – getting them off drugs, rebuilding family ties, and harnessing cutting-edge technology to put education, training and jobs at its
core.
The goal of rehabilitating and re-integrating offenders back into society has been bolstered with the roll out of Employment Hubs and the appointment of 48 Employment Board Chairs. The government expressed its commitment to further reform, including legislating to enable prisoner apprenticeships for the first time, further expansion of digital, data and technology in the Prison Service, tackling the Friday release problem and opening a Residential Women’s Centre in Wales.
Resettlement prisons are designed to prepare prisoners who are approaching the end of their custodial sentence for release, back into the community and reduce reoffending. Often these prisons will be close to the prisoner’s home.
An employer survey revealed that employers believe the ex-offenders they employ are “motivated, reliable, good at their job and trustworthy”.
Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab(pictured) said:
”We’re getting more offenders into work than ever before which is key to cutting crime and making our streets safer.
Along with our work to tackle addiction, improve education and maintain vital family ties, this will set ex-offenders on a sustainable path away from crime – helping to protect the public.
Roisin Currie, Chief Executive, Greggs said:
”At Greggs, we believe that by not overlooking any potential employees because of their past, we can select the right person and develop them to their full potential.
We’ve been working with people leaving prison for a number of years through our dedicated Fresh Start programme, and more recently have signed up to the Employment Advisory Board scheme to enable us to do even more.
The passion and energy for work that comes from people who are given an opportunity to kick-start their careers, or to turn their lives around is clear for all to see and as a business, we feel extremely motivated to do all we can to give these people a fresh start.
As part of the Prisons White Paper, published last December, the government has committed to investing £200 million per year on reducing reoffending by 2023, including on prison leaver employment schemes.
Employment Advisory Boards are just one area where rapid progress is being made in getting ex-offenders into work.
The Ministry Of Justice has also achieved the establishment of 46 Employment Hubs – which mirror Job Centres in the community – have launched in prisons. Through the Hubs, prisoners can access career advice, get help with their CV and enquire about job adverts put up on noticeboards.
This includes 71 Employment Leads have been appointed to manage jobs programmes in resettlement prisons, working with the Prison Service’s national team, the New Futures Network. They act as a point of contact between the prison and employers and can put forward prisoners for interviews with employers with vacancies, based on their skills and experience.
Ex-offenders are working in a host of areas including construction, retail, catering and manufacturing, which is helping prisoners turn their backs on crime and plug labour market gaps across firms of all sizes.
Greggs has seen huge benefits from employing prison leavers, with 120 taken on by the firm since 2012.
Polling commissioned by the Ministry of Justice found that over 90 percent of businesses who employ ex-offenders said they are reliable, good at their job, punctual and trustworthy.