George Vestey: Supporting prisoners towards employment

George Vestey:

Every year, about 50,000 people leave the prison system and seek to start a new life. They face many challenges in resettling and moving on, not least of which is finding stable employment. Some have been out of work for many years, and the job search process – especially given the stigma attached to those with criminal records – is daunting.

There is a lot at stake for us all. According to Ministry of Justice statistics, reoffending costs the UK £18 billion a year. On the other hand, ex-offenders who are employed six weeks after leaving prison had a much lower re-offending rate than those out of work.

The bottom line, as prison minister Lord (James) Timpson has said, is that “Getting former offenders into stable work is a sure way of cutting crime and making our streets safer.”

Of course, this is no simple task. Hiring prison leavers is a commitment that businesses should not enter into lightly. For the employment to be sustainable, the fit between prison leaver and employer has to be right.

Yes, many of these individuals have made serious errors of judgement in the past, but many offer significant skills and positive attitude to an employer willing to take them on. So the rewards for getting it right are great.

Seizing the opportunity:

That’s where we as businesspeople come in. Before he became a government minister, Lord Timpson created Employment Advisory Boards, which bring local business leaders into jails to support efforts to prepare prisoners to get work when released. There are about 90 such boards across the UK, and I was pleased to have been asked to chair the Employment Advisory Board for HMP Hollesley Bay, an open prison in Suffolk.

As part of that, I recently spent a morning working with three prisoners, two of whom were to be released shortly, to help them with their CVs and to conduct some mock interviews. I talked with them about their past work experiences and how they had best used their time inside to reflect, learn, and plan for the future. I used an actual job description for a warehouse operative in one of the Vestey businesses to give focus to the interviews and explore with the prisoners specifically how they can bring their existing skills to bear in their next role.

It was a commitment of just a little over three hours in total, but I came away from it feeling uplifted and optimistic – pleased that I was able to support these individuals on their life journey, and reassured that although they may have made catastrophic mistakes in the past, these individuals still could bring tremendous potential to employers, including my own business.

Building confidence:

I was pleased to hear afterwards that my positive feelings were shared by those prisoners I spoke with. One said “It was a very valuable and great experience. I haven’t had a proper job interview in years and really lacked confidence…. I really appreciated his time and thank staff here for allowing us this opportunity. It has been a great help and I would recommend this to anyone for the future”.

There was no actual job at stake in the mock interview, but simply asking practical questions of the prisoners helped them to clarify in their own heads how they can overcome the challenges ahead of them and what assets they can bring to employers, and indeed how they can contribute to broader society. As the Chief Executive of a family business, I explained the importance of our own organisational values, which helped prisoners think about how their own skills can translate into types of work in which they may not be experienced.

Opportunities for businesses:

Of course, the exercise was not purely philanthropic. The experience gave me learnings that can benefit my business in numerous ways.

These learnings are not just about employing prisoners, but more broadly about how to improve our recruitment processes and tailor them to reach previously under-tapped populations, making the process truly inclusive.

I am confident also that engaging with prisoners in this way can be an opportunity for business managers to hone their leadership skills. “How do I get the best out of this individual?” is a question many of us ask about the people we manage, and there is no better test of this skill than working with those facing the myriad challenges of being a prison leaver. This exercise can be especially relevant for junior managers who are on a development arc; and in fact, those younger businesspeople are well received by prisoners, who can relate to their challenges of getting a toe hold on a career.

Ultimately, as businesses we are all part of a community, and when we consider the costs to our communities of reoffending, we see our obligations to do our part to address them. Engaging with prisons is also a great avenue for businesses to engage with communities and convert good corporate intentions into action.

Your next step:

I would encourage every business in Suffolk – no matter what you do, whatever size you are – to consider whether getting involved in prisoner employment preparation is right for you.

If you are intrigued, please get in touch with Hollesley Bay prison’s Employment Lead Miriam Keeble at Miriam.Keeble@justice.gov.uk

At the end of the day, employing prison leavers may not be right for every business. However, simply engaging with the prison team and participating in mock interviews with prisoners can be a great interim step. It can help you decide whether a more active effort to employ prisoners would be in your business’s best interest.

I myself would be pleased to talk to anyone who is considering this. I will be going back to HMP Hollesley Bay in September for another round of mock interviews, and I would be happy for others to join me. Again, my first visit was tremendously rewarding, and I’m looking forward to learning still more from the experience next time.