Chamber urges employers to back ex-offenders

East Midlands Chamber has said it believes that employing ex-offenders could help fill vacancies in the region.

It follows an employment fair recently held at HMP Sudbury, which aimed to highlight skills valuable to employers.

The chamber supports the UK Fair Chance Business Alliance, which encourages employers to open recruitment and career progression to people that have previously offended by promoting the benefits to businesses.

Lucy Robinson, the chamber’s director of resources, said: “Recruiters need applicants that can hit the ground running and all too often finding the right person is a challenge, as our own Quarterly Economic Survey demonstrated, where seven out of 10 East Midlands businesses that tried to recruit said they’d struggled to get the right candidate.

“There’s a vast talent pool among ex-offenders, many of whom have longstanding skills from previous employment, while the skills programmes that exist in many of the region’s prisons are excellent.

“These could be ideal for a wide range of sectors like digital, logistics, manufacturing, engineering, construction, administration and transport.

“I’d certainly urge businesses eager to recruit to take full advantage of employment fairs when they occur, as they’re an excellent opportunity to see for yourself the range of skills.”