Virgin. A brand which spans so many industries it's almost impossible to keep track. Banking, travel, entertainment, health and fitness, communications, the list goes on. But all of these businesses, the brand itself, is very much rooted in the idea of diversity and inclusion; as Matthias Stausberg, Group Advocacy Director at Virgin, told us when we spoke to him recently about Virgin's commitment to ex-offender employment, “it's part of our DNA."

Virgin Trains is the business that has pioneered the recruitment of ex-offenders within the Virgin Group. Having set up an ex-offender employment programme in 2011, they have taken on 27 individuals (none of whom, by the way, have reoffended) and have recently released a toolkit (which you can find on our website; just click here) that serves as a guidance document for other (Virgin) businesses.

Watch our interview with Matthias to learn more about Virgin's current employment programmes and plans to continue to recruit loyal, hard-working employees from a diverse range of backgrounds, who just so happen to be ex-offenders.