- almost 50 per cent rise in ex-offenders quickly finding jobs
- Greggs the latest household name to join drive – helping to
cut reoffending
- more than half of prisons now benefit from business mentors,
1 year after launch
One year after Employment Advisory Boards were established -
linking business bosses to prisons to provide advice on jobs
skills - the number of former offenders in work 6 weeks after
release has increased by nearly half.
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.
This will play a crucial role in 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.
Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for
Justice, 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:
- 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.
- 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.
Notes to editors
- 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.
- Employment Boards launched in resettlement prisons in June
2021.
- 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”.
-
New
Futures Network already supports more than 400 businesses
to work with prisons and probation staff to match serving and
former prisoners with jobs.
