With jobs needing to be filled, it’s time to take a second chance on returning citizens.
Originally published in HR.com on November 18, 2024.
Highlights:
Have you ever noticed job postings that seem to stay online forever, reappearing in your feed or ads but never getting filled?
It's a common frustration for job seekers. For employers, it illustrates the ongoing challenge of filling critical roles with the right talent.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently released a new study on labor showing a discrepancy of over a million between job openings and unemployed workers to fill them. The organization cited concerns about a shrinking workforce and labor participation rate. And now the Chamber is renewing its commitment to an eager workforce ready to fill its societal role.
I spoke with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at their ‘Reimagining Futures: Second Chance Employment Forum’ to bring together private sector employers, thought leaders, policymakers, and reintegrated individuals.
According to research from the Society for Human Resources (SHRM) Foundation, 85 percent of human resource professionals and 81 percent of business leaders report that individuals with criminal records perform the same as, or better than, employees without criminal records.
Furthermore, 82 percent of managers and 67 percent of HR professionals report that the value second-chance employees bring to their organization is as high as, or higher than, that of workers without records.
With jobs needing to be filled, it’s time to take a second chance on returning citizens.
Over half a million people leave prison every year, and they haven’t been idle while incarcerated. The advent of digital tools, such as tablets and apps, is helping to make educational opportunities more accessible to incarcerated individuals committed to furthering their education. Providing supportive resources facilitates building skills that align with today’s job market needs and helps returning citizens successfully transition to post-release employment.
There are some organizations that are dedicated to connecting formerly incarcerated individuals with job opportunities. Collaborations with businesses representing over half a trillion dollars in revenue across various sectors highlight the growing recognition of the potential these individuals bring to the workforce.
For instance, our partnership job board has yielded over twelve million searches, demonstrating the demand for diverse talent and connecting employers to justice-involved individuals, who are qualified in vocational trades and administrative technology, and who are hungry for a chance to earn a job that provides stable employment.
Reintegration services, coupled with digital learning, are paving the way for incarcerated individuals to access critical knowledge, skills, and personal development opportunities. With partnerships in the eLearning space, organizations can offer access to thousands of courses, allowing incarcerated individuals to choose their educational paths — whether completing their GED, mastering customer service or developing skills to adapt positively to change. Diplomas and certificates awarded upon course completion serve as tangible proof of their achievements, valuable assets for future employment.
And it works. The state of Nebraska recently implemented a program with their Transform Nebraska Learning Pathways. Of the nearly 6,000 individuals incarcerated in state facilities in Nebraska, nearly 20 percent have chosen to enroll in the educational program. Among participants, 15 percent have already completed their high school diploma or GED and recidivism rates are the lowest they have been since 2015. The connection is clear.
Building on the success of Transform Nebraska Learning Pathways, the state worked with the state Chamber of Commerce to survey industries on which jobs businesses were challenged to find workers. Survey respondents needed computer programmers to write code. The state initiated a program to teach incarcerated individuals coding through virtual instruction, along with wraparound services, including career readiness, life skills development, reentry services, and family support.
In June, the first cohort of students at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women (NCCW) successfully completed a year-long coding skills program to fill entry-level, high-demand jobs, including software developer, backend developer, UI/UX designer, website developer, quality assurance, video game developer, and data analyst.
Investing in growth opportunities and positive change works for returning citizens and can also help meet critical needs for employers. Clearly, businesses are seeing success in hiring justice-involved individuals that goes beyond social impact. Not only is second-chance hiring a good thing to do, but it’s also good for a business’s bottom line — a no-brainer all around.