A pilot scheme to help prison leavers build a better life for themselves is gathering momentum as Livery companies see the benefit of giving ‘returning citizens’ a second chance, says our Master Stewart Pierce.
In 2019, WCoBM embarked on a new Pan Livery project – No Going Back (NGB) – that provides training, employment opportunities, support and housing to people leaving prison. Livery companies include many business owners or senior managers with direct access to prospective work, so it makes perfect sense that they are involved in this programme. The initiative is also focused on construction and the built environment, and therefore well aligned to our industry too.
WCoBM plays an active role in the scheme, with Past Master Stephen Turner and Keeper of the Roll Simon Lawson on the steering committee.
Working around the challenges of a pandemic, NGB launched on the 1st July 2020 with pilot schemes initially set up across three prisons in London: HMP’s Brixton, ISIS and Wandsworth. This has now expanded to 30 prisons in the UK for people being released into London. The programme is facilitated by Bounce Back – a charity that specialises in helping people in prison prepare for jobs and life outside.
In its first year NGB exceeded targets and helped 55 prison leavers into work. It is just starting its second year and the team aim to get another 90 prison leavers into full-time employment in 2022. It is therefore a good time to reach out to merchants on a scheme that gives people the chance they need to get back on track.
The societal cost of reoffending
The economic and social costs of reoffending is an estimated £18.1bn a year. For those given short term sentences (12 months) the reoffending rate is 64.1%, yet with stable employment straight out of prison, the risk of reoffending can be halved.
Having a job is key to rehabilitation and we want to help those leaving prison on their journey by giving them the training, qualifications, support and employment opportunities as well as accommodation if they need it. But it’s not that simple. There is still a huge stigma about ex-offenders, and many of you reading this will have your own reservations about employing people with a criminal record. Sadly, this stigma becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as without employment opportunities and the stability that comes with it, the risk of reoffending increases and a cycle is established that is hard to break. As James Timpson of Timpsons says: “It makes good business sense giving people a second chance and you land up with loyal and enthusiastic employees. We can’t recommend it enough.”
One step further
For many years Livery companies have supported the rehabilitation of offenders by providing grants for prison leavers including through the Sheriffs’ and Recorders’ Fund, and giving financial support to Bounce Back who plays a pivotal role in the whole process. Bounce Back matches skills and talents to the needs of employers, arranges for employers to meet suitable applicants while in prison, and works closely with all parties after release to ensure the passage into employment is as seamless as possible.
Taking this philanthropic work a step further, Bounce Back also works with housing charities to provide accommodation if needed, as many leave prison with little or no money, no family support or nowhere to live – all barriers which can stop them getting back on their feet.
Plugging the skills gap
While NGB and its work with Bounce Back benefits individuals leaving prison first and foremost, it also offers significant value to society and to our industry.
According to the industry training body CITB, the construction sector needs to recruit 217,000 new workers between 2021 and 2025. This is mainly due to the ageing workforce, as the large numbers of workers recruited in the 1980s boom are now heading into retirement and there isn’t a pipeline of younger talent coming through to replace them.
Over the past 20 years we have relied heavily on the EU to fend off skills shortages but with Brexit and Covid, the number of European workers in the industry has been cut by more than 70,000.
With the Government’s promise to ‘Build Back Better’ and surging demand across all sectors, merchants know their current workforce requires new hires – and fast! Employers are crying out for people with the right attitude to work and you can train the skills. Prison leavers could therefore be a readily available stream of enthusiastic employees for overstretched merchant businesses.
Keeper of the Roll and CEO of Lawsons, Simon Lawson has been very proactive in recruiting prison leavers and has ambitions to see them make up 10% of his workforce in the future: “In my experience, ex-offenders are motivated, they appreciate the opportunity they’ve been given and they give you back 10 times what you put in. They can also fill a variety of vacancies from the much needed HGV drivers through to trade counter assistants and management roles. A lot of these people are very gifted, they just happened to get on the wrong track.”
Looking ahead
During the first year, 13 Livery companies supported NGB and through representation on the Steering Group, helped to shape the initiative. In Year 2 this has increased to 24 Livery Companies so far. Our hope is that the number of participants will continue to grow so we can provide increased funding, more jobs and more Livery volunteers to help mentor those coming out of prison. There is certainly plenty of work to be done to help the NGB team meet their target in 2022 and provide stability for those looking for a better future.
Currently, the pilot programme is limited to the M25 corridor but there are ambitions to expand it to other regions in the next 12-24 months, so we are keen to hear from merchants who want to pledge their support for this worthy and rewarding programme.
If your organisation is based within the M25 area and has job opportunities, then consider NGB. Email WCoBM Past Master Stephen Turner at [email protected]. The project is also looking for mentors who can help prisoners with CV preparation, career development and workplace skills. Visit www.bouncebackproject.com
Watch NGB’s latest video on the project at www.wcobm.co.uk/videos.
You can also catch this article in Builders Merchants Journal – September issue, page 8.
