Gateway to Employment
Gateway to Employment is a strategic partnership between the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk, Norfolk Community Foundation, the Department of Work and Pensions and the Probation Service. It aims to break down barriers to employment for people with an offending history.
Having a job has been shown to reduce the likelihood that someone will reoffend. Many employers have a skills shortage and would benefit from an increased pool of suitable candidates from which to recruit.
This campaign is supporting men and women who, when finishing a community-based sentence, are left with the task of rebuilding their lives and livelihoods. Not only can employers provide skills and hope for people with an offending history, they are also able to break the cycle of offending, improve the UK's economic recovery and make Norfolk a safe and prosperous place to do business. In return, employers will get a wealth of ability, loyalty and hardworking individuals with experience.
The aim of the campaign is to:
o Find and match candidates to jobs or opportunities
o To work with you, as employers, to provide a comprehensive level of support to individuals you recruit into your businesses
o Give you, as employers, the support you need for your commitment to add social value
o Hopefully, you as stakeholders, will work in collaboration to find suitable candidates on their completion of a Community Order to refer to the programme
o Support our prison system, through breaking the cycle of crime and escalation of criminal activity that could lead to a custodial sentence.
o Our support to prison leavers will continue, we remain committed to supporting all prison leavers and the work in prisons.
o A dedicated DWP Work Coach will be seconded to the project
o And one more nudge, to encourage you as employers to pledge what you could offer to candidates
o As partners, we will be promoting the campaign through my PCC website and social media platforms.
More information
There are various support systems in place for employers to make use of when looking to employ people who are serving community-based sentences and we are willing to make it as easy a process as possible for all those involved.
If you would like to find out how your organisation can get involved or receive further information about Gateway to Employment, please contact the Department of Work and Pensions
via email.
What are the benefits for employers?
- Reduced recruitment costs, through access to pre-screened candidates.
- Loyal and hardworking staff – ex-offenders are often committed to turning their lives around, and working can be the driving force behind this change.
- Tapping into the wide range of skills and experience ex-offenders have across various sectors.
- Demonstrating a commitment to social value.
How does the Probation Service identify whether someone serving a community sentence is interested in finding a job?
The Probation Service has several opportunities to see if someone would like help finding employment.
At the start of a community sentence, an offender will need to attend a ‘pre-placement workshop’ in either Norwich, Kings Lynn or Gt Yarmouth.
A dedicated Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Work Coach Team Leader attends these workshops so that they can explain to offenders what Gateway to Employment is and the job opportunities that are available. They will pick up anyone who is interested at this stage, interview them to find out more about their job goals and potentially start matching them to opportunities.
If individuals are not interested in Gateway to Employment at the start of their community sentence, or their employment circumstances change later on, Probation staff can refer them to Gateway to Employment at any point during their community sentence.
Are there any restrictions on the number of hours of work people can do?
Yes, but only if people become involved in Gateway to Employment, as part of their ‘unpaid work’ (also called community payback) sentence, as this would need to be carried out under the ‘Education, Training and Employment’ (ETE) rules.
The main purpose of unpaid work is to provide punishment and reparation, with individuals carrying out work on projects which benefit their local communities. However, individuals are allowed to complete ETE for up to 30% of their sentenced hours.
Courts can sentence an individual to undertake between 40 hours and 300 hours of unpaid work. So, a person sentenced to 112 hours of unpaid work, would have 33.6 hours available for ETE. Someone sentenced to 300 hours would have 90 hours available.
Employers will be told about any restrictions on the hours an individual would be available for work, at the start.
If people are referred to Gateway to Employment via other routes or at other stages, for example once they’ve finished their community sentence, then there would be no restrictions.
Are there any restrictions on the type of work people can do?
At the start of community order, an assessment is completed with everyone, which records information on health, skills, barriers, risks and any unpaid work restrictions, for example exclusion zones or co-defendants they are unable to work with. This would be taken into consideration when matching people with employment opportunities.
What types of opportunities could employers offer?
As well as job offers, employers could also support people with:
- Apprenticeships
- Guaranteed job interviews
- Sector based work academy programmes
- Voluntary placements
- Work experience placements
- Work trials
After someone has taken up an employment opportunity, what ongoing support is available?
The Department for Work and Pensions provide dedicated support which could include:
One to one wraparound support and mentoring.
In-work support for the individual as needed, working closely with project and community employment partners. This could include confidence building and motivation, wellbeing, resilience, coping with change, managing setbacks, and communication skills.
Help and advice on financial awareness and budgeting support.
Working with Norfolk Community Foundation to remove barriers, including facilitating access to any appropriate bursary funding for those in financial need.
Many employers in Norfolk are not based near public transport routes. Is there any help available for people who are interested in Gateway to Employment opportunities, but do not have their own transport?
Kickstart Mopeds may be able to help suitable candidates. Home - Wheels to Work Kickstart Moped Hire, which is funded by the DWP Flexible Support Fund, is a charity set up to provide affordable transport to help people unable to use public or private transport, to access employment, education and training.
Why is Gateway to Employment not helping prison leavers find job opportunities?
We know people leaving prison also face barriers to finding employment, but there are other schemes and organisations both nationally and locally that are focussed on helping this group.
Aren’t there potential risks to my business or employees, in hiring offenders or ex-offenders?
We understand that you may have reservations about employing offenders or ex-offenders, particularly if you haven’t offered this group of people job opportunities before. You may have concerns around workplace safety, reputation damage and the views of other employees.
Our dedicated Gateway to Employment Work Coach Team Leader will view each potential applicant individually and evaluate and assess every job opportunity for suitability.
As well as the service and support by the Work Coach Team Leader, any individual who is currently serving a community sentence, will also be supervised by the Probation Service.
Employers can take time getting to know individuals, by offering them work experience first for example, before deciding on any longer-term employment offers.
We have a local employer who is a key partner in the scheme; they have successfully employed offenders and ex-offenders for many years and would be happy to talk to you about their experience.
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