The Exceptionals - The Films

THE
BUSINESS
CASE

See the benefits a whole range of businesses can gain from training and employing ex-offenders, from painting and decorating to the restaurant trade and corporate law.

AN
EXCEPTIONAL'S
STORY

See how Jenny turned her life around after leaving prison and now works as an MP Assistant at the House of Commons, with the support and training provided by award-winning charity Working Chance.

About the contributors

Bounce Back

Bounce Back is a charity that provides training in prisons and supports people from prison into employment. The skills training includes painting and decorating, dry lining and it has just opened the first scaffolding centre in a UK prison. It is also a social enterprise that employs people as professional decorators on release, working on projects of all sizes in and around London. Its focus is the reduction of re-offending through training and employment, both in its own organisation and in partnership with other construction companies.

www.bouncebackproject.com

Working Chance

Working Chance is an award-winning charity and the UK's only specialist recruitment consultancy for women with convictions and young women care leavers. Jenny Martín (not her real name), featured in the film above, is a former candidate. As part of the support, training and networking provided, Jenny participated in workshops, attended fairs and received one-to-one mentoring. Working Chance successfully placed Jenny in a nine-month paid internship as part of The Speaker's Parliamentary Placement Scheme and are delighted that she has since become an MP Assistant at the House of Commons.

www.workingchance.org

EXCEPTIONAL EMPLOYERS

THE RIGHT COURSE

The right skills and the right attitude go a long way in business. The Right Course is a charity training-provider that offers a pathway to employment for people in prison through industry-recognised qualifications and relevant work experience in the restaurant trade. Founder Fred Sirieix discusses the success of the scheme, with many graduates securing hospitality jobs on release.

VIRGIN

Business plays a crucial role in building healthy societies and communities. Virgin's employment programme for prison leavers is one way in which they champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The scheme successfully placed 27 people in full-time jobs at the company, none of whom reoffended. Matthias Stausberg, Group Advocacy Director at Virgin, gives his top tips for tapping into this talent pool.

SPECSAVERS

Specsavers do more for the community than just providing glasses. Sanjay Patel, Ophthalmic Director at Specsavers in Maidstone, shares the business benefits of hiring trained optical assistants and lab technicians upon release from prison through successful partnership with The Prisons Opticians Trust (formally Pen Optical Trust).

HSS HIRE

Attracting and retaining great colleagues from all backgrounds is a key priority for HSS Hire. Lisa Crawford, Head of HR, shares her experience of hiring in custody and in the community as part of inclusive recruitment programme New Futures. In 2019 HSS won an EFFRA (Employers' Forum for Reducing Re-offending) award for

LANDSEC

Hiring prison leavers makes good business sense for Landsec. To continue to build as well as their peers, Landsec need a skilled construction workforce for the future. Debbie Akehurst, Head of Economy and Communities at Landsec, shares her experience of supporting people furthest from the job market into employment through partnership with the prison estate and specialist charities like Bounce Back.

THE BUSINESS CASE

AN EXCEPTIONAL'S STORY