On Friday September 21 an exciting event is being held in St Pauls, London, run by the Corbett Network and Nacro and hosted by Everhsheds Sutherland. This free, half-day briefing and networking event will give you the opportunity to hear more about the government's new employment strategy and will provide you with the necessary tools, confidence and support to access this talent pool.

A ready talent pool

There are currently around 11 million people in the country who have criminal convictions, including ex-offenders who have been to prison. These people possess a wide range of skills, qualifications and experience that businesses need, so it makes real business sense to consider looking beyond their past and employing them.

Large employers, including Timpson, Virgin Trains, Greggs and Keltbray as well as less well-known SMEs, that already employ ex-offenders say that these employees are highly loyal and reliable. Ex-offenders often stay at their companies for longer than average employees and often rise-up through the ranks to become managers. This is due to the higher emphasis they place on their job as a second chance to re-integrate into society and, far more importantly, to stay out of prison.

The societal impact of employing people who have criminal records or who have been to prison is also something for businesses to consider.

Reoffending costs around £15bn annually. Employment is key to breaking the cycle of reoffending for individuals and their families, providing children with role models they can follow into employment, instead of crime.

Actively hiring former prisoners is proven to reduce reoffending by up to 9 percentage points. Most offenders want the opportunity to turn their backs on crime and having a job helps them get their lives back on track.

The Event

In May this year the Ministry of Justice launched its Education and Employment Strategy, which set out measures to boost prisoners' skills while in custody and improve their chances of securing work on release. This included the formation of a new body, the New Futures Network, which will work side-by-side with employers to generate job opportunities. Once set up, it will provide a key role in linking local businesses directly with their local prisons and will help establish best practice.

When asked why they don't employ ex-offenders most businesses point to issues of unreliability and trust as major concerns.

To address concerns and help businesses to tap into this new talent pool that they may not have considered before, the Corbett Network is organising a business event with social justice charity Nacro on 21 September 2018.

Hosted by Eversheds Sutherland in St Pauls, central London, the Tapping into new talent free employer event, will give employers the opportunity to hear from and network with businesses already benefitting from this valuable recruitment source.

There will also be the chance to meet ex-offenders working for these businesses, learn about recruitment best practice and be inspired by the innovative approaches being pioneered in the construction and hospitality sectors – creating work ready and fully trained employees on release.

If your business is suffering from skills shortages, or you are simply interested in finding out about the benefits of employing ex-offenders, please come along to the event.

To register visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tapping-into-talent-a-corbett-network-employer-event-tickets-47807394203

If you are unable to attend the event but would like to find out more or register your interest in employing ex-offenders please visit: https://offenderemployment.campaign.gov.uk/

*This post has been adapted from a post written by Lady Val Corbett, originally posted here: http://www.cbi.org.uk/businessvoice/latest/the-ben...