Recruit With Conviction promotes safe, suitable and sustainable employment for people with convictions.
We achieve this by
- Working with employers to develop good practice in the recruitment and retention of people with convictions
- Supporting employability organisations to implement the Apply With Conviction approach
- Influencing wider political and society changes which enhance the employability and sustainable employment of people with convictions, such as improvements to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and Ban the Box.
Recruit With Conviction consultants provide vast experience of business, criminal justice and employability support to provide a professional service within a tried and tested model which has been operating since 1998.
The experience of our consultants is transnational and includes work with FTSE 100 companies and public authorities.
Recruit with Conviction Ltd is a not-for-profit company, established to fill the gap that exists for helping businesses to understand the issues and benefits from employing people with criminal records.
For CSR. Businesses contribute to the safety of communities by engaging with RWC. By using the RWC model and by making a financial contribution to our operating costs businesses will be helping to provide more employment opportunities for ex-offenders which in turn reduce re-offending by a factor of 3.
For HR Specialists – RWC supports the development of policy and procedure for the recruitment and retention of people with criminal convictions. Adopting the RWC model provides companies with access to a wider and more diverse pool of talent with whom trust can be built. RWC also facilitates sharing best practice and networking among the HR community. We recognise that good practice is always developing and should be tailored to each employer.
For Recruiters, Managers and Supervisors – The recruitment of people with convictions is daunting for anybody who has not experienced it. The words “offender” and “prison” strike fear and a host of negative stereotypes. We have developed professional training packages to support businesses to overcome some of these fears and to understand that business has certain legal obligations to employ ex-offenders. By addressing the most difficult negative stereotype we provide a platform to develop much wider diversity in the workplace.
For Mainstream Employability Advisers– A fifth of the working age population have convictions and there has never been a time in history when employers have had so much access to criminal records. However employability services for offenders are increasingly delivered by mainstream providers.
We have developed a training package called Apply With Conviction. This training sets out standards to avoid unintended consequences which can occur to the detriment of community safety, organisational reputation and setbacks for people with convictions.
Our work in developing wider social change includes promoting reform of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, Ban the Box and developing a wide range of partnerships with business, statutory and non-statutory agencies to influence better employment outcomes for people with convictions. This all contributes to a fairer society where more people have an opportunity to compete for work and reduces the likelihood of re-offending.