Britain's biggest businesses are being urged to recruit prison leavers

Government has launched a national campaign to encourage Britain’s biggest businesses to recruit prison leavers in order to reduce re-offending and expand the economy

Prisons and Probation Minister, Ed Argar, said: “We’re helping prisoners kick-start law abiding lives, which makes our streets safer and provides businesses with the staff they need to boost the British economy.”

The latest figures show that the proportion of ex-offenders who have been successfully steered into jobs within six months more than doubled in the two years since April 2021.

KPMG, as part of a new pilot programme, has become the first white-collar British business to employ ex-offenders as part of a government partnership. This is in addition to its wider efforts to support and retrain prisoners whilst in jail.

Having successfully employed its first cohort of prison leavers in a range of different roles, including technology development, it is now working with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to encourage other big-name businesses to follow suit.

Chief Executive, Jon Holt, said: “Our longstanding focus on social mobility is about giving everyone — regardless of their background — the chance to succeed. I believe reformed prison leavers should be no exception.”

The Government has established a New Futures Network, a specialist employment team that operates across the Prison Service and connects hiring businesses with prisons so employers can fulfil their recruitment vacancies.

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