Join over 300 leading businesses who benefit by hiring skilled people from prisons.

Prisoners gain a wide breadth of skills and qualifications from workshops in prison. Many workshops are run by external businesses, tailored to their company’s needs; making ideal job-ready candidates on release.

The New Futures Network (NFN) is a specialist part of the prison service that brokers partnerships between prisons and employers. It will help you to identify the best option for your organisation and find out more from other businesses.

Register your interest to find out more, or read on to see how it can benefit your business.

Pub retailer and brewer, Greene King has committed to employing 50 offenders within a year to help them beat skills shortages in the hospitality sector. Tyler tells his story about working as a chef for Green King.

How it can benefit your business

Fill the skills gap

Over half of employers struggle to fill vacancies due to skills shortages. Prisoners and ex-offenders have a wide range of skills to suit almost any sector, making them ideal job-ready candidates.


Reduce recruitment costs

Filling the average non-managerial vacancy costs around £2,000. Opening recruitment up to ex-offenders can help reduce those overheads.


Reduce staff absence

Unreliability is the biggest concern for employers when they consider hiring an ex-offender.

However ex-offenders see their jobs as a vital second chance so many go the extra mile to secure results and take less time off work than the average UK worker.


Increase staff retention

Ex-offenders often have higher levels of loyalty because of the higher value they place on having a job and staying out of prison, which can reduce recruitment costs.


Make a difference

Most offenders want the opportunity to turn their backs on crime. Having a job helps them stay out of prison, get their lives back on track and is proven to reduce reoffending.

Register your interest in employing prisoners and ex-offenders

Leigh’s story - Halfords colleague and ex-offender

Leigh tells her story about working as a cycle technician for cycling and motoring retailer Halfords.

Hear from businesses in sectors from construction to coffee

Keltbray, Bernard Matthews, Timpson, Redemption Roasters, and Landsec are just a few of hundreds of UK businesses employing ex-offenders.


New Futures Network

The New Futures Network (NFN) is a specialist part of the prison service that brokers partnerships between prisons and employers.

Once you have registered your interest, NFN will be in touch to help you to identify the best option for your organisation.

There are a range of ways to get involved:

  1. Employing serving prisoners
  2. Release on temporary licence (ROTL). Following this, employers may then decide to offer permanent employment when they are released from prison
  3. Employing ex-offenders, following their release from prison.

Follow the New Futures Network on Twitter

 


See Potential

If you are interested in employing people from other disadvantaged groups, such as single parents, care leavers or the long-term unemployed visit See Potential.