A Nacro briefing

Ex-offenders andemployment – the wayforward

Nacro 2006

169 Clapham RoadLondon SW9 0PU

Telephone 020 7582 6500Fax 020 7735 4666

www.nacro.org.uk

ISBN 0 85069 218 0

Nacro is a registered charity no. 226171

© Nacro 2006

Nacro welcomes a wide circulation of its ideas and information. However, allreproduction, storage and transmission must comply with that allowed under theCopyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, namely for purposes of criticism orreview, research or private study, or have the prior permission in writing of thepublishers.

Photo: Stuart Rayner, www.stuartrayner.com; Mark Harvey, iD8 Photography,www.id8photography.co.uk

Nacro is very grateful to everyone who appears in the photos. Please note, it should not be assumed that any individuals depicted have anyassociation with the stories or activities described in the text.

If you have particularneeds which make itdifficult for you toread this, contact 020 7840 6433 andwe will try to find amore suitable format

Ex-offenders and employment – theway forward

This Nacro briefing paper, part of a series of papersdealing with current debates and issues relating tocrime and criminal justice, is based on ourresponse to the Government’s 2005 green paper,Reducing Re-offending through Skills andEmployment. The response is online atwww.nacro.org.uk/data/resources/nacro-2006070400.pdf

The quotes throughout the text come frominterviews with Nacro’s senior and experiencededucation and employment staff.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to David Walker and to colleagues acrossNacro who contributed to the report, including:Craig Harris (Director, Education and Employment),Ellen Cuerva (Assistant Director, Education andEmployment), Selina Corkery (Manager, ServicesPublications and Information Unit) and placementofficers and others from our education andemployment projects.

Ex-offenders and employment – the way forward

page 1

� Introduction page 2

� Education, training, employment and crimereduction pages 3-4

� Working with prisoners and ex-offenderspages 5-7

� Working with employers pages 8-10

� Delivering the best service page 11

� Conclusion and recommendations page 12

� About Nacro and related publications inside

back cover

Contents

More than 20,000 people came to Nacro forresettlement advice during the past year,accessing our Resettlement Plus Helpline orone of our many projects across England andWales. Three-quarters of these enquiriesconcerned employment – for example, theskills needed to get back into work, the impactof a criminal record, and the attitude ofemployers to ex-offenders. This level and typeof enquiry gives an idea of the problemsinvolved in trying to establish a settled, law-abiding life after a prison sentence or acriminal conviction.

The poor education and employment records ofmany ex-offenders – both before and after theirinvolvement in the criminal justice system – isnow a widely recognised fact. Two-thirds ofprisoners are not in work or training in themonth before they start their sentence, andthree-quarters do not have a paid job to go toon their release. As the Government’s recentgreen paper, Reducing Re-offending throughSkills and Employment, points out: ‘These lowrates of employment are damaging to theindividuals concerned and the economy andcommunity more widely… There is a good casefor investing in programmes to get more

page 2

Introduction

offenders into jobs, and for raising their skilllevels to improve their chances of becomingmore productive and successful inemployment.’1

Nacro could not agree more. As a leading crimereduction charity we have four decades ofexpertise in developing constructive andeffective solutions to crime. We provideeducation, training and employmentopportunities to some 10,000 prisoners, ex-offenders and unemployed people inpartnership with employers, governmentagencies and voluntary bodies. We have longcampaigned for greater investment inprogrammes designed to steer people awayfrom crime by providing good-quality andrewarding jobs. As we indicated in ourresponse to the green paper, we hope that theGovernment will take this opportunity tochange lives and reduce crime.2

Notes

1 HM Government (2005) Reducing Re-offending through Skillsand Employment London: Stationery Office

2 Reducing Reoffending through Skills and Employment: Nacro’sresponse to the Department for Education and Skills GreenPaper (May 2006). Available atwww.nacro.org.uk/data/resources/nacro-2006070400.pdf

Learning to weldat Portland YoungOffenderInstitution

Ex-offenders and employment – the way forward

Reducing offending has become a top politicalpriority in recent years. It is one of the maingoals of the National Offender ManagementService and a recurring theme in the debateabout crime.

In particular, there is a growing recognition onthe part of Government and criminal justiceagencies that the education, training andemployment of offenders can play an importantrole in reducing crime. In August 2005, theOffender Learning and Skills Unit (OLSU) of theDepartment for Education and Skills workedwith the Learning and Skills Council to set upthe Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service(OLASS), to help offenders ‘gain the skills andqualifications they need to hold down a job andhave a positive role in society’.1 And at the endof the year, the Department for Education andSkills, the Home Office and the Department forWork and Pensions jointly published the greenpaper Reducing Re-offending through Skills andEmployment, which set out proposals to ‘helpoffenders become more productive members ofsociety’.2

The links between offending and unemploymentare complex, but unemployment is significantlyhigher among offenders than among thepopulation at large.3 A 1997 survey showed thatthe proportion of ex-offenders on probation inemployment was 21% compared to around 60%of the general population.4 The green paperfound that the employment prospects of ex-offenders are well below those of thecommunity in general: some 67% of prisonersare not in work or training in the four weeksbefore going into prison, and 76% of prisonersdo not have paid employment to go to aftertheir release.5

The link between unemployment andreoffending is much clearer, with researchsuggesting that those who commit furtheroffences are far more likely to be unemployedthan those who do not.6 If unemployment islinked to higher rates of reoffending, then itstands to reason that employment can play asignificant role in reducing it. As Phil Hope,

page 3

Education, training, employment andcrime reduction

minister for skills, argued in Safer Societymagazine last year, ‘It makes sense that good,early employer engagement, plus good training,linked to a real job has the highest chance ofreducing recidivism.’7

This approach is borne out by the evidence.Mark Lipsey’s analysis of 400 internationalresearch studies on young offenders found thatemployment is the single most important factorin reducing reoffending.8 The Social ExclusionUnit’s report, meanwhile, stated thatemployment reduced reoffending by between athird and a half.9 Yet research also suggests thatjobs alone are not sufficient to preventreoffending10 – other important factors includethe quality and longevity of the employment onoffer, and the offenders’ access to support inother areas such as accommodation and drugprogrammes. Furthermore, if employment andskills training are to be effective, they must bemeaningfully linked to the prospect ofemployment.

Offenders need skills that will allow them to getjobs and stay in work. This presents aconsiderable challenge. In 2002, the SocialExclusion Unit found that half of all prisonerswere at or below Level 1 in reading (thestandard expected of an average 11-year-old);two-thirds were below it in numeracy; and four-fifths below it in writing. These levels fall shortof the minimum requirements for almost alljobs. In July 2004, the Home Office’s ReducingRe-offending – National Action Planacknowledged that it was necessary to improvestandards of literacy and numeracy in order toenhance ex-offenders’ employment prospects.11

The Government has begun to take action. Ithas transferred responsibility for offenderlearning and skills to the Department forEducation and Skills, and subsequently to theLearning and Skills Council, as part of itsstrategy to ‘mainstream’ services – from nowon, services should be provided by the sameagencies inside prisons as outside them. It hasinvested more in some areas of provision, suchas basic skills and engagement programmes for

those not in education and employment. And ithas published the green paper to give shape tofuture strategies for reducing offending througheducation, training and employment.

Many of the proposals set out in the green paperhave much to commend them. Nacro welcomesits acknowledgement of the need to provideseamless support for offenders as they make thetransition from prison to the wider community –an approach we have long advocated. We alsoback the suggestion that a single professionalshould take responsibility for an offenderthroughout their sentence, the proposals forinformation-sharing between agencies in order toavoid duplication of effort, and the stress on therecognition of offenders’ prior achievements inorder to improve CVs.12

If the Government honours the central role it hasgiven the voluntary and community sector in itsproposed reforms, we look forward to an excitingand constructive time ahead, working together toimprove the lot of ex-offenders, enhance thelabour market, and make society safer.

Notes

1 ‘OLASS’ www.lsc.gov.uk/NR/exeres/21F0F27E-4430-4AB6-8F83-3EF37D87A3F7.htm

2 HM Government (2005) Reducing Re-offending through Skillsand Employment London: Stationery Office

3 See, for example, Tarling R (1982) Unemployment and CrimeHome Office Research Bulletin 14, London: Home Office

4 Mair G and May C (1997) Offenders on Probation Home OfficeResearch Study 167, London: Home Office

5 Op cit Reducing Re-offending through Skills and Employment

6 See, for example, May C (1999) Explaining ReconvictionFollowing a Community Sentence: The role of social factorsHome Office Research Study 192, London: Home Office

7 ‘Let’s get to work’ Safer Society 26 (Autumn 2005) London:Nacro

8 Lipsey M (1995) ‘What do we learn from 400 research studieson the effectiveness of treatment with juvenile delinquents?’ inMcGuire J (ed) What Works: Reducing Reoffending New York:John Wiley

9 Social Exclusion Unit (2002) Reducing Re-offending by Ex-Prisoners London: ODPM

10 Roberts K, Barton A, Buchanan J (1997) Evaluation of a HomeOffice Initiative to Help Offenders into Employment London:Home Office

11 Home Office (2004) Reducing Re-offending – National ActionPlan London: Home Office

12 Nacro submission to the green paper, see note 2 on page 2

page 4

Working on their skills at a Nacro education and employment project

Ex-offenders and employment – the way forward

Specialist voluntary sector providers are wellplaced to work with these hard-to-help ex-offenders. This is because ex-offenders havealmost always had negative experiences ofeducation or other state-provided services.They are thus likely to regard voluntary sectororganisations with less suspicion, and are moreprepared to co-operate with them. Also,prisoners particularly benefit if the organisationproviding their employment programme brings‘the smell of the outside’ with them.

Meet actual needs

Employment is important, but it is not a magicbullet. Getting a person into a job, and helpingthem to stay there, is a process not a singleintervention. Providers must thus be prepared tomeet a range of different needs, and take a longview. For people with complex problems in theirlives, a single intervention on a single issue willnot make a significant difference. Relationshipsbetween prison establishments, supervisingbodies, learning providers, specialistorganisations and referral and endorsementagencies need to be carefully worked out,ensuring that the right practical and financialsupport is made available. The continuouslearning experience needs to be placed at thecentre of the provision, with specialistinterventions brought in at the right time.

As well as evolving programmes to deal withpeople with different levels of need, policy-makers and funders must also recognise thatdifferent groups have needs specific to theirgender, ethnic background, and age.

Take, for example, the different needs ofyounger and older ex-offenders.

Many ex-offenders find it hard to find workbecause, as well as having a criminal record,they lack workplace skills and experience. Overthe years, Nacro has assisted many thousandsof ex-offenders to gain qualifications and enterthe world of work. We understand the situationfaced by people trying to rebuild their lives andmove on, and we have developed programmesand techniques to help them do it. Ourexperience is that, given a chance, many ex-offenders work hard to keep themselves inemployment, and usually go on to leadproductive, fulfilling and crime-free lives.

For this reason, we are very committed to thegoals outlined in the green paper. At the sametime, we would also caution against adopting a‘broad brush’ approach to the education,training and employment needs of ex-offenders– after all, not all their needs are the same. Forsome, for whom prison is but a shortinterruption to an otherwise fairly stable life,the green paper’s approach to the provision ofeducation and skills is entirely suitable. But forothers, who are also the more marginalised insociety, the route to employment is often muchmore complicated and fraught with difficultiesthan envisaged by the green paper.

We recognise this fact because many of the ex-offenders we work with lack simple life skills,never mind workplace skills. They are likely tohave dropped out of school, and they oftenstruggle to live independently. In many cases,they are simply not ready to engage invocational training, let alone hold down a job.They also need support to address a range ofother personal issues, such as housing, druguse or mental health problems; and theseadditional factors need to be embedded infuture learning and skills programmes.

page 5

Working with prisoners and ex-offenders

‘There is an acceptance that 16 to 18-year-olds need to undertake a process ofchange if they have broken school histories and are unattractive to the generalityof employers. This is less readily acknowledged of adults, who are, generallyspeaking, less motivated either to accept the fact that they need fundamentalchange, or to sign up to that kind of process. It threatens their sense of identity.After all, you’re not going to earn a lot of money on a dole scheme’

Young people are resistant to education andtraining because they have had a recent,unpleasant experience of the education system.Many have either truanted or been excludedfrom school, and would rebel at the idea ofmore learning. Nacro and other specialistagencies have thus developed techniques forenticing them to learn without alienating them.Nacro provides employment programmes with astrong vocational, hands-on element. Westructure learning around areas of interest suchas sport and music, and break it down intosmall manageable steps. We recognise theirachievements – ideally with an accreditedqualification but also recognising otherprogress1 – and help them through each stageof the process of finding and keeping work.

By contrast, many older people on Nacroprojects have never been employed, or if theyhave, have had a very negative experience ofintermittent, low-paid and sometimesdangerous work. They can be embittered andset in their ways, with very low expectations ofwhat they can achieve, and no inclination tochange or get a job. Nacro aims to remove themost obvious barriers to their employment,while, most importantly, linking learning withreal work experience and job opportunities. Ourjob-seeker programmes give participantsopportunities to try out different vocationalareas and help them identify transferable skillsthat can help them prepare a convincing jobapplication and CV. Staff can act in an advocate

role for those lacking the confidence to addresstheir criminal record directly with employersand aim to help learners develop skills – suchas problem-solving – to help them keep a jobonce they have found employment.

Programmes for many offenders also need to beable to address their attitudes and expectationsentrenched over years, or possibly generations,which make it harder to find and keep work.This means using, for instance, cognitive-behavioural approaches to challenge patterns ofnegative thinking and behaviour and help peoplefind more positive ways of relating to others anddealing with problems. This theoreticalframework underpins Nacro’s education andemployment provision, along with threeoverarching principles: respect, inclusion andthe positive expectation of change.

Leaving prisonWhat does the green paper offer to those beingreleased from prison?

We welcome the Government’s recognition ofthe importance of support immediately uponrelease, although this support should startduring the custodial sentence, and provide abridge between prison and the community.Nacro and other voluntary organisations haveestablished and run schemes offering integrated‘through the gate’ services that could providemodels to reproduce. Our experience, gainedthrough running programmes like the Onsideproject in Portland Young Offender Institution,is that long-term support is essential toovercome the ‘one step forward, two steps back’effect after release.

Previous programmes could provide both usefullessons and a replicable model. For example,the Learning and Skills Council funded a two-year pilot designed and delivered by theLearning Alliance (a consortium of specialisttraining providers, including Nacro) to bringEntry to Employment programmes into youngoffender institutions. Offenders started theirtraining while in custody, and were matchedwith providers on release. Results werepromising, especially in addressing the problem

page 6

Left: Making furniture on a work placement.

Bottom right: A mechanics trainee ‘tagging’ thebanger racer completed on a Nacro project

Ex-offenders and employment – the way forward

within probation service ETE (education trainingand employment) targets.4

Nacro acknowledges the importance of basicskills in improving employment prospects, andruns programmes in partnership with probationservices in a number of areas. We also recognisethat basic skills alone will not enable many ex-offenders to find and keep a job. The ‘offenderlearning journey’ proposed in the green papercould provide the flexibility needed to allowoffenders to work at different levels as theircircumstances change, including moving intoand out of formal qualification streams.Funding and delivery mechanisms need to allowthis to happen.

This is the approach taken by Nacro’s Gettinginto Work programme, based on cognitive-behavioural principles, which is replicated inNacro training centres throughout England andWales. Learners come from a wide range ofreferral agencies, ranging from Job Centre Plusto the probation service, and are assessed andtheir needs identified at the beginning of theprogramme. These needs are continuallyreviewed, and go beyond skills deficits or thelack of employment skills – for example, peopleoften need help with benefits, accommodationor health issues. These must be addressed inconjunction with other agencies as part ofleavers’ progress towards work.

Nacro has long believed that individually tailoredsupport is the most effective means of ensuringsuccessful resettlement. This flexibility is one ofthe voluntary sector’s great strengths. Anycontract to provide employment programmesmust include a guarantee of timely access toappropriate services, to enable individuals tofulfil their potential. Nacro is concerned thatpriority is not just given to the most able, whomay already be ready for work, but also to thosewith a rockier road to travel to work.

Notes1 Recognising and Recording Progress and Achievement (RARPA),

which applies to all LSC-funded non-accredited training, couldbe applied more widely

2 House of Commons Education and Skills Committee PrisonEducation (2005) London: Stationary Office

3 Op cit House of Commons Home Affairs Committee

4 See, for instance, the ETE targets set out in the NPS briefing(May 2006) atwww.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk/files/pdf/Briefing%2034.pdf

of offenders falling through the net as they leavecustody and move back into the community.

Basic skills – means, not endsThe Government has greatly increasedinvestment in basic skills programmes toimprove offenders’ literacy and numeracy, andmore work needs to be done to embed theseprogrammes in wider efforts to increaseemployability. As the Parliamentary SelectCommittee on Education and Skills on PrisonEducation concluded, ‘basic skills are vital, [but]they are not by themselves sufficient to ensureemployment on release’. It added that ‘byconcentrating on basic skills, the Government isfailing to recognise the significance of the lowskill/low pay equilibrium that will not helpmany prisoners to find a real alternative tocrime’.2 Similar concerns were raised by theParliamentary Home Affairs Committee on theRehabilitation of Prisoners in their report,Rehabilitation of Prisoners.3 These concerns arenow beginning to be addressed, for instance,

page 7

Employment programmes for prisoners and ex-offenders could not operate without the co-operation of employers. Indeed, theGovernment’s green paper indicates that an‘employer-led, demand-driven system’ isessential to increase the number of jobopportunities for offenders.

However, there is no doubt that manyemployers are reluctant to employ ex-offenders.1

A 2005 survey by the Chartered Institute ofPersonnel and Development found, forexample, that 36.6% of employers wouldexclude all ex-offenders from their recruitmentprocess.2 Nevertheless, Nacro has a provenrecord of finding people good-quality long-termemployment. Given suitable support, properrisk-assessment, and carefully chosenplacements, employers are prepared to give ex-offenders a chance. The challenge is to makethe process as clear, straightforward and asworry-free as possible for employers. Thismeans acknowledging their genuine concerns,and putting forward constructive and realisticproposals to address them.

Facing facts

The disclosure criminal record-checking systemis a distinct additional barrier to ex-offendersfinding work, unnecessarily compounding someemployers’ reluctance to employ them. In arecent Nacro report, we showed that manyillegal criminal record checks are run and manypeople with irrelevant offences excluded fromjobs they are qualified to do. These barrierswill be set even higher if basic disclosures –

available for all jobs, not just those workingwith vulnerable people – are introduced.3

Despite this unpromising situation, there arereasons to be more positive.

Employers that have taken a chance onemploying ex-offenders have usually foundthem to be diligent and reliable employees whoare highly unlikely to risk their employment byreoffending. The Confederation of BritishIndustry recognises this, and its DirectorGeneral, Sir Digby Jones, has called for moreemployers to engage with the National OffenderManagement Service to increase training andemployment opportunities in prison and in thecommunity.4

It is important to challenge the negativeattitudes of employers and other recruiterssuch as training providers, colleges, andvolunteering projects. To do so, it is importantto understand their concerns and offerreassurance. Only then, through a combinationof legislation, practical advice and support, willit be possible to create the circumstances inwhich they will take on ex-offenders.

Working together

The green paper’s vision for improvingoffenders’ employment prospects depends onemployers being willing to take on ex-offenders– as trainees, on placement and as employees.Nacro’s experience working with employersshows that this is possible, if a challenge. Nacroworks with about 700 local, regional andnational employers each year to provide work-

page 8

Working with employers

‘If employers are given decent policies to work with, they are likely to respond

positively to employing ex-offenders. They want to know how to deal with

disclosures and they want effective practices because they are the ones who will be

held responsible. They also want clear procedures to fall back on or refer to, which

legitimise their decisions’

Ex-offenders and employment – the way forward

tasters and placements for a wide range ofpeople, including those with convictions. Thisworks well for employers, who might wish tooffer people, including ex-offenders, workexperience, and it works well for the person onplacement, because they can try out real workin a safe environment, improve their skills, andreceive documentary evidence of competence.Placement may on occasion lead to paid workwith the employer.

The placement service must be sold toemployers, however. While some respond wellto arguments about community cohesion andsocial responsibility, many respond best tosimple business arguments – namely, that awork placement will be good for the company.Of course, they must also be reassured that the

page 9

‘We can make significant changes by continuing to try to inform and educate about thetruth of offending and criminal records in the labour market. But you are on shaky groundwhen you ask employers to be altruistic rather than self-interested. But once risk toemployers, colleagues and customers has been assessed, we – and the system – mustpromote as much anonymity and non-disclosure as possible’

person on placement is suitable for them, andthat they will receive ongoing support andadvice. More broadly, they need to bepersuaded that the majority of ex-offenders inwork are competent, reliable employees whopose no risk whatsoever to their colleagues,clients or employers. Finally, employers needspecific advice about assessing risk, about thelaw and about good practice.

Finding appropriate placements involves agood knowledge of the local labour market andcontinued maintenance of relationships withemployers. Careful matching of the person andthe business contributes to the success ofplacements. Support services, such as Nacro’sResettlement Plus Helpline, help employers tomake safe and sensible recruitment decisions.

Men from a Nacro project clearing the path above Hummersea cliffs

The right message

Nacro has shown that employing ex-offenderscan work, given the right approach. The nextchallenge is to get this message across to thepeople who matter. Nacro’s Going Straight toWork initiative in 2002-03 involved a number ofmajor employers including Tesco, Asda,Granada plc and KPMG. It found that employerswere willing to employ ex-offenders, but werereluctant to develop policies and proceduresfor their recruitment because of the criticalresponse they might receive from the press andthe public.

The Going Straight to Work employers grouprecommended that the Government work withmajor employers to develop policies for therecruitment of ex-offenders, so that these maybe used as good practice case studies. It alsosuggested that it should educate employersabout the value of improving recruitmentpolicies for ex-offenders, and encourage them

to engage with statutory and other agenciesworking with offenders.5 This is essential ifemployers are to play anything like the roleenvisaged in the green paper.

Nacro believes that the Government should alsotake the lead by breaking down the prejudicesthat exist against employing ex-offenders, inparticular by implementing therecommendations from the Home Office’sreview in 2002 of the Rehabilitation ofOffenders Act 1974.6

Notes

1 Department for Work and Pensions (2001) Barriers toEmployment for Offenders and Ex-offenders Research Study155, London: DWP

2 ‘Employers exclude “core jobless” groups’, People Management,15 September 2005

3 Nacro (2006) Getting Disclosures Right London: Nacro

4 Speech to Probation Boards Association, 30 June 2005

5 Nacro (2003) Recruiting Ex-offenders: The employersperspective Nacro: London (out of print but available online atwww.nacro.org/data/resources/nacro-2006070300.pdf)

6 Home Office (2002) Breaking the Circle: A report of the reviewof the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act London: Home Office

page 10

Learning the business on work placement

Ex-offenders and employment – the way forward

particularly specialist programmes, are as briefas six months, which makes staff retentiondifficult, and disrupts relationships withoffenders. Programmes that do not offerconsistent, properly-funded support forsufficient periods of time are simply noteffective, and may be counter-productive.

If the Government’s promised end-to-endapproach to offender skills and employment isto succeed, it must do two things: first, set outclear policy objectives, and second, guaranteecontinuity of funding. The National OffenderManagement Service, OLASS and othercommissioning bodies must ensure that thecontracts they award to learning and skillsprogrammes adhere to Compact guidelines, andare of at least three years’ duration.

We believe that the new contractualarrangements being developed by OLASS offer agood opportunity to design contracts that willencourage an holistic approach to offenders’needs. These would involve brokered, voluntarypartnerships, and would prohibit ‘cherrypicking’. Such arrangements should include therequirement that skills and training providersestablish links with employers, with regard tolocal conditions and the needs of the locallabour market.

Our message to Government is that it mustfundamentally change its approach toemployment and education for prisoners andex-offenders. It should fund employmentprogrammes in the long term, and develop apositive ‘mixed economy’ contractingenvironment that would allow differentagencies and organisations to play to theirstrengths and build partnerships, rather thanjust compete.

This would ensure that programmes have asignificant impact on offenders with a range ofdifferent needs, instead of just providing for themost able. Most prisoners do not have previouswork experience, connections with employers, ornetworks of employed family members andfriends – and are thus the people who most needassistance to join the world of work.

Clear policy, guaranteed funding

At present, there are not enough programmesdesigned to help offenders. Those that exist arehampered by unrealistic targets, short-termfunding and the oft-changing requirements ofservice commissioners. Funding is a particularproblem, because many contracts for thedelivery of offender learning and skills,

page 11

Delivering the best service

‘The Government should offer incentives to employers – particularly small and

intermediate businesses – to engage with those most in need. Currently, much

funding works in the opposite way, encouraging businesses to cream off the easiest

to reach and allowing them to subsidise their training for people they would

employ anyway’

‘Nacro’s distinctiveness as a service provider is less to do with our technical

specificity in delivering any individual programme, and more to do with links

between and combinations of different interventions that we bring together. For

instance, we run youth work outreach engagement activity as a precursor and

antecedent to Learning and Skills Council programmes and more directly job-

related schemes’

The establishment of the National OffenderManagement Service and OLASS offers anexcellent opportunity to restructure offenders’employment, training and education. Nacrobelieves that the creation of an end-to-endapproach to offender management shouldinclude an end-to-end inclusive approach tooffender learning skills and employment.

� More investment and resources should bechannelled into employment and skillstraining for prisoners and ex-offenders.

� Policy should recognise that many offendersare starting from a low base, and should beoffered flexible, tailored training.

� Statutory agencies – in particular the NationalOffender Management Service – should settargets and performance indicatorsspecifically relating to increasing offenders'employability – addressing both vocationalskills development and other skillscontributing to 'job-readiness'.

� Employers should develop sensible and fairrecruitment policies which do notunreasonably discriminate against ex-offenders.

� To encourage employer-involvement andchange the ‘climate’ around ex-offenders’employment, the Government should developa public education programme and reformthe Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

� The National Offender Management Serviceand OLASS, together with Jobcentre Plus,should do more to encourage links withemployers.

� Funding streams should be tied to clear,consistent and sustainable policy goals.

� The voluntary sector should play animportant role, along with public and privatesector bodies, in providing education,training and employment to offenders.

page 12

Conclusion andrecommendations

About NacroNacro, the crime reduction charity, is dedicated tomaking society safer. We have unrivalled expertisein developing constructive and eeffective solutionsto crime, based on 40 years’ experience. Ourpractical resettlement services and pioneeringcampaigns aim to reduce offending and changelives.

Related publications

� Recruiting ex-offenders: The employers' perspective This guide gives employers detailed information aboutrecruiting from the widest pool of potential staff whileavoiding employing inappropriate candidates. It sets outthe findings of a Nacro's 'Going straight to work' groupof employers, that employers can employ ex-offenderswithout problems, but need more information about howto do this. Taking into account the points raised by thegroup, the guide goes on to set out detailed guidance ondeveloping sound recruitment policies, includingassessing risk, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974and the new Disclosure Service. (2003)Out of print but on line atwww.nacro.org.uk/data/resources/nacro-2006070300.pdf

� Getting disclosures rightThis report addresses the problems presented to ex-offenders and to employers by Standard and EnhancedDisclosures. It describes the use and misuse ofDisclosures; recommends legislative reform; providesguidance on those aspects of the Code of Practiceconcerned with the fair use of information; and examinesrisk, both in terms of criminal records and the jobs thatpeople are expected to undertake.2006 28pp ISBN 0 85069 211 3 £7.50

� Disclosures, law and practice: A handbook for shopstewards, trade union officials, employmentlawyers and othersThis handbook sets out the law and good practice inrelation to Standard and Enhanced Disclosures. Itexplains what employers should and should not do inrelation to ex-offenders and sets out the grounds onwhich decisions to refuse employment or suspend anddismiss individuals might be challenged. 2006 44pp ISBN 0 85069 212 1 £5.00

Nacro also produces advice material about employmentfor ex-offenders, practitioners working with them, andemployers. These can be downloaded or ordered fromwww.nacro.org.uk/publications/adviceleaflets.htm

You can view all Nacro publications atwww.nacro.org.uk/publications.htm and order them fromNacro Publications on 020 7840 6427, 020 7840 6444(fax), or publications@nacro.org.uk.

This Nacro briefing considers the role of employment in helpingex-offenders go straight. Based around Nacro's response to theGovernment's green paper, Reducing Re-offending through Skillsand Employment, the paper considers the evidence linkingemployment to reduced offending. Then, using Nacro'sexperience of running employment programmes and advising ex-offenders and employers, it looks at ex-offenders' needs,involving employers, and at what the Government should do toimprove significantly ex-offenders' chances of getting into work.

£2.50

Ex-offenders and employment – the way forward