On March 23rd 2023 the Ministry of Justice announced that employment advisory boards have been rolled out across all 92 resettlement prisons.
Bosses from top high street employers have enrolled in the scheme which will help people in prison who are coming towards the end of their sentence prepare for work.
Nacro’s response
Nacro chief executive Campbell Robb said: “Work is a vital part of helping someone settle into a new life after prison. Nacro has long called for better support for those leaving prison to get into work, and we’re pleased to see that employment boards have been rolled out nationally. Reoffending costs the UK £18bn a year. Having meaningful work on release helps to lower reoffending rates, give people a second chance, and reduce this bill.”
Why is work important?
We have long campaigned for better access to work for people both in and leaving prison. When a prison leaver is in work, it reduces the chance of them reoffending by around 10 percentage points. When someone has work upon leaving prison, it gives them a meaningful stake in the community, it also opens up options for housing and gives them a positive foundation on which to build a new life. Reoffending costs around £18bn a year, and work is one vital way we can help reduce that bill.
In the Government’s Prisons White Paper promised a series of measures to help get people in prison into work, including employment boards, increased use of release-on-temporary-license (ROTL) and improving vocational skills in prisons.
What do employment boards do?
Employment boards link prisons to leading business figures who can offer their expertise on the skills, qualifications and training needed to help prisoners re-enter the workforce.
Using these insights, prisons can tailor their training and workshops to match local labour market demands so people are job-ready when they walk out the prison gate. Most employment boards will also offer key skill workshops including CV writing and interview techniques. Dedicated job experts will walk prisoners through job applications and give them interview training so they are ready to find jobs in booming sectors such as construction, haulage, and logistics.