UK government urged to tap into employers’ willingness to recruit ex-offenders

The survey?s findings indicate that in order to improve the employability of ex- offenders and help break the re-offending cycle, the government needs to focus on improving and raising awareness about the support available to employers and equip ex-offenders with more marketable job skills.

The survey – ‘Employing ex-offenders to capture talent’ – shows that employers are most concerned about ex-offenders having soft workplace skills like honesty, reliability and good personal behavioural skills, not just basic numerical, literacy and technical job skills. But employer concerns could be addressed as four-fifths of employers with a positive experience say that ex-offenders settle into work well with colleagues, perform well and are reliable.

Dianah Worman OBE, CIPD Diversity Adviser says: “Ex-offenders are a largely unused pool of talent which employers could access as a way of helping to reduce skills shortages. Getting involved in the rehabilitation of ex-offenders through corporate social responsibility initiatives will help to create economically successful communities in which individuals and businesses can benefit.

?While improving the employability of ex-offenders through training is accepted as key to the rehabilitation of offenders, the Government need to ensure training meets the needs of employers, improve the communication about support available for employers and work with the media to change stereotypes about ex-offenders.

“Training provision in prisons is patchy and offenders are frequently moved between them. This seriously reduces rehabilitation prospects for offenders. For training to be successful in leading to jobs, its availability needs to be consistent across all prisons so that offenders can continue learning regardless of their location.?