Greene King: Pub chain among businesses offering jobs to inmates from Doncaster prisons

Prison education provider Novus, which works in HMP Doncaster, Hatfield, Lindholme and Moorland, as well as others across Yorkshire and the Humber, has been running a scheme which has seen the number of offenders moving directly into employment by 65 per cent over three years.

Under the ‘Yorkshire Model’, Novus delivers education as well as employment support, making engagement between prisons and businesses easier while providing prisoners with a consistent team working with them from course delivery through to securing a job after their release.

The employment outcomes of prisons utilising this joined-up approach are up to three times higher than those where these services are delivered by a range of different organisations, it is claimed.

According to the Ministry of Justice, prisoners who participate in an education programme while serving a sentence before progressing to employment or further training or education upon release are nearly 10 per cent less likely to reoffend.

The ‘Yorkshire Model’ has been praised in Unlocking Aspiration, a new report by the Centre for Social Justice thinktank, which outlines a series of measures needed to support more prisoners into work upon release.

Novus Manging Director Peter Cox commented: “The positive impact that participating in education and training while completing a prison sentence has on reducing reoffending rates is long established, particularly when it leads to stable and meaningful employment upon release.

“As such it was clear to us that if the prison education sector was to be even more effective at helping to break cycles of reoffending and positively impacting the lives of ex-offenders, there needed to be stronger connections between the education that prisoners receive and the employment opportunities that exist in the labour market upon their release.

“By strengthening these links through greater collaboration and enhanced support for offenders upon their release in the Yorkshire region, we have been able to significantly increase the number of offenders who move into stable employment at the end of their sentence. We are looking forward to building upon this success and replicating the approach across further regions in which we operate.”

David (whose name has been changed to protect his identity) is a former prisoner who enrolled on a cookery course through Novus and upon his release he secured a full-time job as a chef.

Reflecting on his experience of education in prison, David said: “It was at this point that opportunities really started to arise for me. I really enjoyed the course and I was getting support from Novus to really give me confidence.

“When I was released, Novus came through for me and helped to set me up with interviews. I’ve been with various agencies before and that hasn’t really led me to work. But with Novus, they helped set up interviews and support me through them, right through to helping me secure work as a chef. It is a job that I really love.”

Pub chain Greene King provides employment opportunities for prison leavers across the UK.

Lynne Kennedy, the company’s talent development manager, said: “We understand that everyone has a past, but regardless of background we want to help people build a successful career in the hospitality industry. We are proud to have now supported nearly 150 prison leavers into employment through our Releasing Potential programme and in June 2022, we committed to recruiting 300 more prison leavers into roles by 2025 as part of our Untapping Potential report.

“Novus is one of our key partners which provides the education and preparation for release across prisons within the Yorkshire region and is helping us to achieve our recruitment commitment. With their help, we continue working closely with each prison leaver we employ, offering tailored support, training and resources, helping them gain confidence, stability and an opportunity to build a sustainable career, contributing to reduction in reoffending.

“Our commitment to supporting rehabilitation of offenders continues to grow through establishing our first Greene King training kitchen within a London prison and participating in a new Apprenticeships for Prison Leavers scheme for which we are a pilot employer.”