Acorn and Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service have an established partnership to rehabilitate offenders and secure their employment upon release. This support reduces the social cost of both reoffending and unemployment, by improving inmate’s skills and employability whilst in prison to improve their chances of success on the outside.
We secured work on-site for 22 former inmates in 2018, contributing £38,735.51 toward a Victim Support Fund and creating £557,502 Gross Value Add for the economy.
Acorn is a conduit between HMO prisons and employers, arranging paid work opportunities for prisoners on ROTL (Release on Temporary License). Acorn has identified many skilled and capable individuals who have secured full-time employment on release thanks to our connections.
The programme is split into two areas:
Ultimately between Acorn, the Prison & Probation Service and our third sector partners, we develop disadvantaged individuals and support those who are ready to turn their lives around to secure opportunities.
The UK must increase its efforts to reduce reoffending rates, estimated to cost the UK economy £15bn a year. If individuals are not given the opportunity to secure employment after release they are five times more likely to re-offend.
Employing ex-offenders also helps to prevent homelessness. As a vulnerable group, ex-offenders that fail to secure work are more susceptible to homelessness, in addition to substance abuse and negative mental health.
If you have entry-level vacancies likely to be available for 4-5 months or longer, such as labourer or gate person, we can match you up with an individual we are working with. We will take care of everything, allowing you to be as directly involved in the programme's stages as you wish. If you choose to, you are welcome to visit a prison with us or become involved in the employability and mentoring work we do.
Take a look at what partners and participants think of the programme.