Success
We believe people deserve A Fairer Chance when it comes to employment. People should not be defined by something that may have happened on the very worst day of their life. Having helped and supported thousands of people with convictions wanting to work, we know the depth of skills and talents that jobseekers bring to their employers.
Stories
Oscar's story
In 2014 years ago we received a referral for a young man, Oscar who we were told was looking for something ‘entry level’. After meeting him and talking about his aspirations and goals, we were really excited to start working with him, we could tell he was somebody special. At the time, we were working on a pilot programme with Transport For London (TFL). They were looking for a Project Support Officer. It was due to be a 6 month placement with the hope it would allow the individual to gain enough skills and knowledge to apply for internal roles.
The recruitment process included a training and learning day at The Transport Museum, to gain knowledge and to prepare and assist the candidates for the interviews/group assessment day at Transport for London.
Although we wanted all our guys to do well, we really did have a soft spot for Oscar and had our fingers crossed for him. They clearly saw in him what we did as he was offered the job! 8 years later and guess who is still at Transport For London?!
"..I have taken full advantage of the opportunity and excellent training and am now APMP qualified and recently secured a promotion. Thinking back to Covid-19 and how privileged I was to employed by such an amazing organisation, firstly to get to work from home and delivery the Mayor’s transport strategy and then to be furloughed on 100% pay while so many others struggled financially. It gives me goose bumps just thinking what it could have been like without Rosie and Maggie and A Fairer Chance giving me the confidence to succeed, for this I am forever grateful.”
Rachel's story
Rachel reached out to A Fairer Chance in September 2020 when she was coming to the end of her sentence in East Sutton Park. She had a strong, professional work history but was worried she would need to apply for roles below her grade due to her conviction. She had a number of transferable skills and high aspirations but her confidence had been knocked. We felt she was underselling herself and her self-doubt was stopping her looking at jobs she was more than capable of. Rachel had met one of our lived experience case managers, Roxanne while they were both in custody so a level of trust was already there, she knew Roxanne really understood the complex emotions and barriers that face women leaving prison.
A Fairer Chance is a recognised partner of Going Forward into Employment (GFiE). GFiE life chance recruitment schemes use innovative approaches to recruit people from a wide range of backgrounds into the Civil Service. A vacancy for Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) came up which looked like a great fit for Rachel. We supported her application, prepared for interview and helped build her confidence around disclosure. We were all delighted when she was offer the job. After 6 months in post at DEFRA, she applied for a Business Administrator role in the Civil Service which again, she was successful for and has now been in work for 18 months.
Rachel is now part of our women’s focus group.
Shaun's Story
Shaun was released from HMP Pentonville in Feb 2012 having served 6 years of a 12 year sentence. He was referred to A Fairer Chance by a great prison officer who said Shaun was the hardest grafter he’d ever met. On paper he wasn’t a good bet. He was approaching sixty, had just served a long sentence and didn’t really have a trade but we had been told he was a hard worker and good with people.
Shaun was determined to get a job and the first opportunity we were able to give him was working on the fit out of the Athletes Village on the London 2012 Olympics.
Shaun has never been out of work since.
In those eleven years he grew his career. He acquired other construction and civil engineering skills and spent almost two years at Hinkley B Nuclear site, first as an operative and then of course as a supervisor. He facilitated a site visit for A Fairer Chance and probation and prison staff based in Somerset.
Additionally he supported our work. He came back into HMP Pentonville and HMP Isis to represent his employer but also to assist in our pre employment workshops
Just before COVID Shaun was invited to Downing Street by Lendlease BeOnsite in acknowledgement of all he had achieved and how he helped others on the way.
You never know who you might find in custody until you take the time to look.