Do you struggle to recruit people with the right skills for your business? With employment at an all-time high in Leicester, and businesses growing, where is the new workforce going to come from? Born from a working group including the Police and Crime Commissioners Office, Leicester City Council and the Department for Work and Pensions, this event will look at the benefits and social value of employing ex-offenders. It will also include the launch of a new website and charter dedicated to the promotion of ex-offenders into employment.
The event is aimed at employers who are interested in revitalising their recruitment strategy and finding out how recruitment of this disadvantaged cohort could benefit and drive their business forward. Some of the benefits of employing ex-offenders include:
- Access to an untapped resource of skilled and committed employees
- Grant opportunity of £3500
- Excellent CSR opportunity, providing employment for individuals who often find it difficult to rehabilitate and get back into the workplace. Employing ex-offenders also helps to keep society safer by contributing towards a reduction in re-offending rates
- Enhance your recruitment strategy
It is hoped that attendees and district councils will also consider signing up to a new charter, which will include ‘ban the box’, pledging time for employability advice in prisons and a commitment to providing vacancies that are open to ex-offenders to apply for.
The agenda will include presentations about the benefits and ways to get involved with this initiative, speed-networking and presentations from ex-offenders who have been successfully rehabilitated into the workplace.
Confirmed Speakers:
Lord Willy Bach, Police and Crime Commissioner
Steve Clark, St Giles Trust
Paul Baker, Bakers Waste
Agenda
9am – 9.15am: Arrival and registration
9.15am – 9.30am: Welcome
9.30am – 10am: St Giles Trust and the Voice of Ex-Offenders
10am – 10.15am: A Business Perspective
10.15am – 10.30am: Break, networking and stall holders
10.30am – 12noon: A chance for individuals to meet employers with live vacancies