Ex-offenders: Govt Education and employment strategy

People with a criminal conviction face several barriers on release from prison, with access to employment and education being at the forefront. Not only are many ex-offenders often unprepared for employment on release in terms of their skills and training, but there remains a stigma among some employers about hiring people with a criminal conviction. With reoffending costing the UK billions each year, more must be done to improve employment opportunities for ex-offenders to reduce the number of prison leavers that reoffend.

This strategy sets out how the government will tailor its approaches on education and employment to help prisoners develop their learning and skills and secure and sustain employment after they leave custody. The vision at its heart is when an offender enters prison they should be put, immediately, on the path to employment on release.