More than 300 UK employers have joined the Ministry of Justice’s push to recruit prison leavers over the past year, with Greggs, Iceland and Kier among the brands taking part. The Prison Service says a new digital job‑matching tool will be rolled out across prisons in England and Wales to connect candidates to vacancies and guide applications. The update was published on 16 November 2025 and trailed at the MoJ’s employment advisory conference on Thursday 13 November.

For hiring teams, the labour market context matters. The Office for National Statistics estimates 723,000 vacancies in August to October 2025, broadly flat on the quarter and well down from the 1.3 million peak in 2022; there are now about 2.5 unemployed people per vacancy. The government note’s “around one million vacancies” reflects earlier peaks rather than today’s total.

Measured outcomes are improving. MoJ statistics show that 37.8% of prison leavers serving sentences of 12 months or more were in work six months after release between May 2024 and March 2025, compared with roughly 15% in 2021. The department describes this as a record high of around 38%-important progress, even if performance still varies by region and sentence type.

The crime‑reduction case is also evidence‑based. Official answers to Parliament indicate employment can lower reoffending risk by up to nine percentage points, with earlier data‑shares pointing to a 5–9 percentage‑point effect depending on sentence length. The MoJ adds that more than 90% of employers who hire prison leavers rate them as motivated, reliable and with good attendance.

Alongside national names, smaller firms are stepping in. Coffee chain Gourmet Coffee says recruits from HMP Styal have thrived with tailored training and on‑site support-an approach that mirrors what many successful schemes report: clear roles, mentoring and a direct path to permanent work.

There is a practical return for businesses. The CIPD notes 86% of employers of people with convictions rate them good at their job, often with stronger loyalty and retention-useful when churn is costly. Reoffending is estimated to cost the economy about £18 billion a year, so every sustained hire creates both social value and operational benefit.

Routes into this talent pool are now more organised. The New Futures Network’s Employment Advisory Boards, conceived by James Timpson, cover more than 90 prisons. New regional Employment Councils launched this year bring prisons, probation, local employers and the DWP together to support people into work in the community as well as through the gate.

The tech element should remove friction. The MoJ’s job‑matching tool will sit alongside basics such as ID provision and jobcentre links-support the department says is now embedded across all 93 resettlement prisons. For HR teams, that means fewer delays on right‑to‑work checks and a clearer pipeline for entry‑level roles.

However, programme success still depends on what happens inside prisons. A Justice Committee report on 14 November 2025 warns that half of prisoners are not in education or work while in custody and that roughly two‑thirds are not in education or work six months after release-figures that underline the need for better training and employer partnerships, not just placement targets.

For HR leaders and operations managers, the immediate to‑do list is clear: embed fair‑chance recruitment, align real vacancies with prison‑based training through the New Futures Network, and track 6‑ and 12‑month retention rather than shortlisting volume. BITC’s Ban the Box guidance is a useful starting point for removing unnecessary barriers at application stage.