Nearly 60% of companies in the East look to hire ex-offenders
It's as new research shows they're struggling to fill vacancies
Nearly 60% of companies in the East are looking to hire ex-offenders to fill vacancies.
This is according to research done by Sodexo and the Oswin project.
The research shows almost half (49%) of businesses in the East of England are finding it difficult to fill in excess of 10 current vacancies.
Nigel Seaman, founder of Suffolk business Combat 2 Coffee, used to work in a prison and, in his own company, has worked with over 30 ex-offenders.
He told us he feels it's important to provide them a change at rehabilitation:
"It's about second chances, because yes, people do make mistakes, and actually you may work with 100 offenders in custody, but one or two of them, if you're doing training and development for something, if you highlight the ones and twos and actually give them an opportunity that far outweighs the cost of keeping with them what it would cost for 100 people to work with.
"If you can change 2, 3, 4 people's lifestyles and they don't re-offend and go back into custody, the financial resource saving on that is far greater than time for the training and development, but it is about second chances."
What is it like to work with ex-offenders?
Nigel has plenty of experience with working in a prison with ex-offenders and giving them jobs at Combat 2 Coffee.
He told us: "They tend to go above and beyond, especially when they start employment because it's about that second chance and that opportunity.
"But what we try and do is sort of continue the sequence. We get them to another employer because if you can give someone a working history and then accountability for what they've done and put something on their CV rather than just saying they left wherever, that actually gives them an opportunity for a job.
"We've had an example where someone got a job at Starbucks on the back of that. That's where the opportunities come."
Hiring ex-offenders can also help victims, their families and the offender's family
Nigel told us about what some prisons do to help those affected by the offenders:
"An open prison allows resettlement and work in the community. There's a fund run by the MOJ which allows money to go back towards victims and victim care and so on.
"The governor decides and establishes what percentage of their (the ex-offender's) wage they put back into that fund. It's anything from 15 to 40% of their wage that they earn.
"So you could be an offender working out in the community, on license and if you earn ÂŁ100 a week and the governor decided ÂŁ40 of that had to go back to victim surcharge then that's as clear as day.
"They make the decision, but it allows people to earn some extra money and sometimes if they've got family they can send money home.
"This means their family do not become an indirect victim of the crime."
"You see a lot of empowerment"
We asked Nigel what it's like seeing people go through the process of working and integrating back into society:
"If you can work with someone and create an opportunity and they take that opportunity, you can see some real growth and it actually makes us feel good.
"We do this with veterans in custody (as well).
"The likelihood is, trauma from service, could relate to their offending and actually, they deserve a second chance.
"So if you can give them a chance to learn the job and get back into that work framework, then you're actually doing them some good.
"You're doing the community some good, and actually, I suppose you're doing rehabilitation good as well."
How hiring ex-offenders saves money
Nigel explained to us how helping to rehabilitate ex-offenders means they are less likely to return to prison and how less crime means less money is spent:
"You're going to save money for the NHS because they won't possibly fall back to an addictive lifestyle, so the healthcare provisions won't be needed.
"You'll be saving clinical time for GPs.
"You'll be saving police time in the community because they won't have to follow up.
"You'll be saving probation time because the supervision will be reduced, and the Circo prison transport, won't have to take them back to custody.
"It also saves court time for the magistrates and solicitors and so on.
"When you put it like this, just through creating one person an opportunity, if it was one a year as an employer, think about the savings you're creating to not only the judicial system but also the healthcare system and someone's health and wellbeing.
"It far outweighs what has been invested into them (the cost to employ them)."