FREE event for women in women looking to start their own business

Date: 10/10/2011

Subject: FREE event for women

FREE event for women in women looking to start their own business on:
Wednesday 26th October 2011 at the Kings Centre, 56 Bull Head Street, Wigston, Leicestershire LE18 1PA.

Presenting on the day will be Lou Gimson outlining:
- How to get started in business
- How to develop your confidence
- Key skills of female enterpreneurs

This free taster session runs from 9.30am - 12.30pm and is a great networking opportunity. For further information and details, please contact Heena on 0116 2518 730. Places are limited so booking early is advised. To book, please contact Skills for Enterprise on 0116 2518 730.

Please would you forward to your contacts or any clients who you feel maybe interested.

Kind Regards.

Why ex-offenders should be given a role in cutting youth crime

Ex-prisoners have a lot to teach young people and will be listened to, says Stewart Dakers

Stewart Dakers Monday 19 September 2011 12.24 BST guardian.co.uk

As the justice system struggles to address youth crime, there is one resource which could do more to retrieve and reform young people, to divert them from crime, and to restore a positive attitude in them than a dozen public enquiries and a battalion of QCs.

The people who know the streets, the youth on them, and what is in their heads, are people who have been there themselves, ex-prisoners. Yet they are never consulted.

I have worked with a number of ex-prisoners over the past ten years. I have witnessed their workshops, and seen the results. They are truly impressive. Agencies like UserVoice, Foundation4Life, and YouthempowermentCDS, are just some of the many initiatives undertaken by prisoners on release as they seek to put something back.

They are managed by ex-prisoners and employ other ex-prisoners. Selection is rigorous, training robust and supervision exemplary. These are remarkable men and women with an impressive product.

They deliver workshops across the country which aim to divert young people from crime by developing their sense of personal responsibility, by confronting them with the victims of crime, their families, and the community. They show them the consequences of crime for themselves and their life chances.

These are the only people who enjoy genuine credibility with 'the yoof'. It is not just that they have been there and got the T shirt. They know why the young people misbehave, because they did it themselves. They know how to encourage personal responsibility because they have acquired it the hard way. They know the consequences of crime, because they have experienced them big time, and still do. They know what triggers to squeeze, what sanctions to impose.

And they deliver. They have acquired a portfolio of skills in engaging with young people, which are beyond the imagination of the chuntering classes and, yes, most of the professionals. Time and again, I have watched a dozen young people, who would normally be off the wall within five minutes of attending a class, sit spellbound for two hours.

I have watched them at lunch break deep in conversation before returning for a further two hours still paying attention. It is a powerful, intense two-way process, with each, ex-cons and youth, exchanging painful, personal stuff, opening up, being vulnerable, sharing fears and hopes. In the pain and the tears, the young people rediscover a sense of purpose and of self. This is truly remedial work and it works.

Unfortunately I have also witnessed the uphill struggle ex-offenders face. This is genuine resettlement, yet they continue to confront prejudice and incredulity. They are sidelined, ignored in the corridors. For all the extraordinary work they do, they remain engaged in a constant battle to make their voices heard, while political ears attend to the purveyors of judicial snake oil and the lucrative contracts are awarded to faithful amateurs.

The corridors are intellectually bankrupt on this issue but the cells have more than enough wisdom to confront it. We possess a rich seam of unused talent. Let's use it.

Employing more ex-offenders

Jul 12, 2011

I would like to encourage more companies to proactively recruit ex-offenders. Our experience of this within Virgin has been wholly positive – particularly when working with organisations such as Working Chance, who offer restorative recruitment for women offenders.

I believe our society should do more to support positive initiatives to encourage the rehabilitation of prisoners. We should create more chances for people who have been in jail to make a positive contribution to the workforce.

In Australia, Toll, the transport and logistics group – working with WISE Employment - makes a point of doing exactly this and has employed a number of former prisoners. In the UK, Timpson, the key cutting and shoe repair business, has created a successful programme too.

If many more companies could follow their example then many more ex-offenders would be able to find a purpose in life, worthwhile employment – and everyone would benefit.

Research has shown that most ex-offenders are more committed and willing to do more than just the job. They are grateful for the opportunity to do something worthwhile rather than falling back on their former ways and circumstances.

People often start offending because of an unfortunate upbringing or bad circumstances within their families. Maybe a good employer and the positive influence of work colleagues can, in part, be a replacement for a dysfunctional family.

When I talk to our Virgin CEOs, I do urge them to do more to help. This is not always possible in some sectors such as aviation where security restrictions would make it difficult, but we strive to do our best where we think we can give people another chance. I urge as many other companies around the world as possible to do so too.

Hiring ex-offenders and homeless morally right, says M&S

Work needed to overcome prejudices, says HR director Tanith Dodge

Hiring people from disadvantaged groups is not only “ethically right” but benefits business, according to the HR director of Marks & Spencer.

Speaking at the Talent Pipeline Conference, organised by the Employers Forum on Age and Employers Forum on Belief, Tanith Dodge outlined how the retailer encouraged a workforce diverse in age, and was working with the third sector to deliver development programmes for ex-offenders, homeless people and school leavers.

“We find our work is helping people that are more disadvantaged and have difficulty finding employment, and we do it because we believe that morally and ethically it is the right thing to do”, Dodge told the delegates in London.

CIPD research from last December found that less than a quarter of employers hired staff from disadvantaged groups, including young people with few qualifications, the long-term unemployed, ex-offenders and older workers.

Employing ex-offenders is a result worth paying for

Mark Johnson guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 15 February 2011 16.30 GMT

The votes for prisoners debate was a circus for clowns who kept missing the point. I've lost count of the interviews that I've declined to take part in on this subject because I don't want to add to all the noise about it. But the fact is that the rest of Europe regards voting as a human right. Politicians such as Tory MP David Davis, who talk about offenders losing their rights because they have "broken their contract" do not understand that where most offenders come from, contracts aren't meaningful. And their education has been given such a low priority that they probably couldn't read the small print anyway.

The ballot box has little relevance to many of the prisoners I meet on the wings: a drug-addicted offender with mental health issues has other priorities. But even if every one of them was a willing participant, our politicians know that 85,000 votes from people who are otherwise voiceless will make no difference to an election result. Playing to the baying mob on a safe ticket of self-righteous condemnation might just win a few seats. So no prizes for guessing that our politicians have opted for the moral low ground.

When someone commits a crime, he is punished by losing his freedom. If prisons really were places of rehabilitation, then reintroduction to society should be an important part of that process, which must involve understanding society's structure and voting. Excluding prisoners is the very opposite of what we need to do.

Click here to read full article:http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/15/employing-ex-offenders-result-worth-paying-for?CMP=twt_gu

Construction Training for Young ex-offenders in London.

Construction is a hugely popular area of employment for young people and we find that a large majority of our project’s clients are looking for work or careers in the construction industry.

Since our project has been in existence we have had a number of construction training schemes and construction employment opportunities come our way.

We’ve had these opening come from Bovis Lend Lease, Multi-Skills, Prince’s Trust and Carillion.

We have more that we will be making available to our clients in the coming weeks and months, so if construction is an area of work which you would like to get into and you meet our project’s criteria get in touch with us.
Click here for full details:http://www.realemploymentproject.org.uk/?p=521

Nacro Change The Record Campaign report

Nacro’s campaign report sets out why the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and CRB checks must be reformed so ex-offenders can get back into work. It highlights the cost of not acting, the benefits of reform for employers and wider communities, and Nacro’s recommendations.

The full report can be found here: http://www.changetherecord.org/facts-and-stats/campaign-report,705,NAP.html

What is Nacro's Change the Record Campaign?

Change the Record is a new campaign from Nacro, the crime reduction charity, to help ex-offenders back to work by tackling discriminatory practice and laws that prevent them finding a job. The campaign focuses on amending the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Click here to read more: http://www.changetherecord.org/about/

Nacro's Change the Record Campaign

The campaign, which is being backed by former Conservative cabinet minister and ex-offender, Jonathan Aitken, is focused on reforming the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

This is an outdated law which makes it incredibly hard for people with criminal convictions to get and job and move on from their past.

The report outlines how the current Act is out of tune with the government’s rehabilitation revolution, its initiatives to get people off benefits and back to work and its Big Society plans to create a more equal society.

Paul McDowell, Chief Executive of Nacro, says: “Around a quarter of the adult population has a criminal record. Outdated legislation and unlawful practices are preventing people from moving on with their lives and finding work.

“Research shows that getting reformed offenders into work can reduce reoffending by up to a half. Updating the legislation therefore benefits not only ex-offenders and employers, who gain valuable skills, but also the wider community.”

Jonathan Aitken says: “I am one of many ex-offenders grateful for the passing of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act in 1974. This legislation was designed to help people with a criminal record get back into work. It established the principle of ‘spent’ convictions, giving certain categories of ex-offenders the right not to disclose their offence to employers after periods of time ranging between five and ten years.

“But after 36 years, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is in need of reform because its limitations make it out of date and ineffective. The rehabilitation periods are also too onerous. So amendments to the Act are overdue.”