TiP – Task 7 Involvement of Employers Final report Georg Langenhoff (Germany) Ilona Haslewood (United Kingdom) Péter Hégely (Hungary) Roland Wolters (The Netherlands) - September 2007 -

Transitions in Prison (TiP) is co-funded by the community initiative EQUAL

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

1

Content 1. Introduction: EQUAL, TiP and Task 7 (Involvement of Employers) (by Péter Hégely, HU) ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........3 The main principles of the EQUAL Programme ................................ ................................ ..3 Transitions in Prison (TiP) ................................ ................................ ................................ ..3 The four TiP partners................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 4 HU: "Határszél" Fejlesztési Partnerség -Visszatérés a társadalomba ................................ .4 Toekomst in Balans - een nieuwe uitdaging (The Netherlands) ................................ .......... 5 IMPACT (United Kingdom) ................................ ................................ ................................ .5 ZUBILIS (Germany) ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 5 The tasks and activities of TiP ................................ ................................ ............................ 6 Comparative analysis of the involvement of employers (Task 7)................................ .........6 2. The development of the labour markets in Hungary, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Germany (by Georg Langenhoff, DE)................................ ................................ ............. 7 3. Specific labour market developments in the TiP partner countries................................ ....11 3.1 The Hungarian labour market (by Péter Hégely, HU) ................................ ................. 11 3.2 The Dutch labour market - perspectives for ex-detained women (by Roland Wolters, NL) ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 13 3.2.1 The labour-market in the Netherlands ................................ ................................ ..13 3.2.2 The position of women ex-prisoners on the Dutch labour-market ......................... 15 3.3 Recent labour market developments in the North West of England (by Ilona Haslewood, UK)................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 20 3.3.1 The regional labour market in the North West of England................................ .....20 3.3.2 The employment of ex-offenders ................................ ................................ .......... 21 3.4 The German labour market and the development of the temporary employment market (by Georg Langenhoff, DE) ................................ ................................ .................. 22 4. The involvement of employers – the activities of the four TiP partners and the main results of the employer surveys ................................ ................................ ............................ 26 4.1 Involvement of employers – the activities of the Hungarian TiP partners (by Péter Hégely, HU)................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 26 4.1.1. Attitude survey among potential employers (May 2006) ................................ ......26 4.1.2. The main outcomes of the employers' meetings organised by the Prison of Sopronkőhida................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 28 4.2 Involvement of employers (by Roland Wolters, NL) ................................ .................... 29 4.3 Engaging with employers – the activities of the UK partners (by Ilona Haslewood, UK) ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...30 4.3.1 Consultation with employers................................ ................................ ................. 30 4.3.2 Employer engagement activities................................ ................................ ........... 32 4.4 The ZUBILIS-Labour-Market-Survey (by Georg Langenhoff, DE) .............................. 35 4.4.1 The concept behind the first and second wave of the ZUBILIS-Labour-MarketSurvey................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 35 4.4.2 In-demand occupations ................................ ................................ ........................ 35 4.4.3 Need for qualifications and certificates ................................ ................................ .36 4.4.4. Occupational outlook for female and male ex-prisoners ................................ ......37 5. A comparison of the survey results and conclusions ................................ ........................ 40 Appendix: A comparison of the survey results................................ ................................ ......42

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

2

1. Introduction: EQUAL, TiP and Task 7 (Involvement of Employers) (by Péter Hégely, HU) The Equal programme is a community initiative launched by the European Union. Community Initiatives are exploratory, but significant programs, that focus on smaller parts of the community and are funded by 6 % of the Structural Funds. The Equal Programme is funded by the European Social Fund, and its main goal is to apply such methods in employment that help combat discrimination and inequality in the labour market. Projects are implemented through the participation of different EU countries and international cooperation that enables an exchange of experiences and adaptation of good practices.

The main principles of the EQUAL Programme • • • • • • •

Partnership Participation International cooperation Innovation Thematic approach Dissemination of results and build them into trade policy To emphasise the aspect of equality of men and women

Transitions in Prison (TiP) "Transitions in Prison" (TiP) is the name of a European co-operation partnership addressing the reintegration of ex-prisoners into the labour market and society in general. It includes the development of new strategies and devices for both the improvement of (cognitive) training, and of release prospectives especially for female prisoners, and the development of (structured) job opportunities and release preparations for this target group in prison and after release. Ex-prisoners are particularly difficult to place into work. Both individual risk factors and social prejudices seriously interfere with the successful re-integration of this target group into labour market and society. On the other hand, however, unemployment is one of the most important factors that increase ex-prisoners' risk of re-offending and – by this - both individual damage to victims and the social costs of re-imprisonment. To find innovative solutions to breaking through the vicious circle of “imprisonment – unemployment - recidivism” is the most prominent common interest of the trans-national partnership. The partners to the TCA share an interest in addressing the common underlying problems that exist in respect of the inequality of services and the barriers to reintegration for men and women in prison. Each individual partner has set out to create re-integration networks for the target group that facilitate their access to labour markets, follow-up training and family guidance and that provide assistance to both ex-offenders and employers in order to stabilise employment in the interests of individual re-integration, labour market requirements and public safety. The transnational co-operation is aimed at the exchange of information on the basis of national experiences, the joint “production” of additional knowledge, the development of good-practice concepts for improved services and specific tools to be used in efforts in the (vocational) reintegration of prisoners, and at sharing mainstreaming strategies.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

3

The four TiP partners Hungary (HU)

Sopronkőhidai Fegyház és Börtön "Határszél" Fejlesztési Partnerség Visszatérés a társadalomba

The Netherlands (NL)

Categoriaal Overleg Vrouweninrichtingen Toekomst in Balans - een nieuwe uitdaging

United Kingdom (UK)

HM Prison Service IMPACT

Germany (DE)

Kriminologischer Dienst des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen ZUBILIS - Zukunft der Bildung im Strafvollzug des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen

HU: "Határszél" Fejlesztési Partnerség -Visszatérés a társadalomba The main objective of the programme is to successfully reintegrate the primary target group of the project (approximately 50 offenders), into the labour market after their release from prison. The "Borderline" Development Partnership is based on regional and professional cooperation and consists of the following organisations: a.)

Sopronkőhidai Fegyház és Börtön (Sopronkőhida Prison)

b.)

Sopronkőhidai Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft (Employer company in the prison)

c.)

Vas- és Villamosipari Szakképző Iskola és Gimnázium (Industrial Training School in Sopron)

d.)

Nyugat-dunántúli Region s

a y

zpo t (Regional Labour Centre).

The main activities of the project are: a.) To obtain accredited professional training (OKJ-certificate) in metal work for 50 offenders (primary target group) b.)

Supplementary training that helps the primary target group becomes successful on the labour market. The project intends to mix the training, employment and aftercare elements

c.)

Special courses for those people who have regular contact with the detainees: prison officers, education staff, psychologists and mentors

d.)

Involvement of potential employers by organising prison visits and providing other forms of information (newsletter, etc.)

e.)

The completion of surveys and analyses

f.)

Organising professional conferences, preparing publications and brochures.

Direct targets are to decrease the social barriers and employers' prejudices against the prisoners. To decrease re-offending through training, labour market training courses are offered that are aimed at permanent employment for the prisoners in competitive trades in acceptable working conditions prior to their release from prison.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

4

Toekomst in Balans - een nieuwe uitdaging (The Netherlands) BALANCING THE FUTURE, A New Challenge A practical example of building bridges Balancing the future, a new challenge is a national project for the social reintegration of female offenders in the Netherlands. This is a project involving all the penal institutions for female offenders and their partnership organisations. In the beginning the partners of the project were: -

Humanitas Association, dealing with the family situation

-

Exodus Foundation, housing for mother and child after release

-

Zorgconcept Foundation, dealing with work and education

-

Delinquency and Society, empowerment of the target group.

Whilst the Ministry of Justice had been involved right from the start, from 2005 three representatives from the Dutch Association of Local Government were invited to join the project as well as an organisation dealing with our women abroad, called Education Behind Foreign Bars Foundation. These representatives, who are the potential users of the final model, come from the cities of Eindhoven, Utrecht and Breda.

IMPACT (United Kingdom) IMPACT (Innovation Means Prisons and Communities Together), the UK partner of Transitions in Prison, aims to develop, trial and evaluate interventions for ex-offenders, with a special focus on a number of sub-groups who face double or multiple disadvantages in the labour market. IMPACT is organised into three main themes, according to the target group of ex-offenders it works with. The Ascend theme works with ex-offenders from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, the Asset theme with female ex-offenders as well as males under the age of 21 and over 50, whilst Changing Directions focuses on ex-offenders convicted of sexual offences and those posing a risk to children. The interventions are aimed at overcoming a range of barriers to successful reintegration upon release from prison, with an emphasis on those related to employment, training and education (ETE). Each theme undertakes a wide range of activities appropriate to the needs of its target group. The activities involve developing and testing new approaches such as programmes, regimes, management techniques, and media products. IMPACT operates in the North West of England, in line with the lead organisation of the project, the North West Area of HM Prison Service. IMPACT incorporates a wide range of partnership organisations from the statutory, voluntary and private sectors. Partners include, among many others, the National Probation Service, Jobcentre Plus, Connexions, the Learning and Skills Council, City College Manchester, SOVA, NACRO, YMCA, and Partners of Prisoners. This broad partnership base ensures that many of the products arising from the work of IMPACT will be transferable both beyond the region and to other community contexts.

ZUBILIS (Germany) ZUBILIS is a Development Partnership of the Ministry of Justice of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is co-funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs within the framework of the European Community Initiative EQUAL. The primary aim of the project is to increase the adaptability of vocational training and education programmes in the penal system of North Rhine-Westphalia in view of the requirements of the changed labour market to enhance the employability of (ex-)prisoners. The specific needs of female inmates are of particular concern.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

5

A specific focus of the project is a better integration of general education schemes and vocational training programmes for offenders during imprisonment. Moreover, the use of modern E-Learning-methods is also tested in the custodial environment. In addition, new forms of release preparations will be tested including the development of special job offers provided by temporary employment companies for ex-prisoners. All this is supported by accompanying research projects, for example “labour market surveys” to improve the proximity of vocational training programmes within the penal system to labour market needs, but also the systematic evaluation of the adoption and the effects of the new training and reintegration programmes.1 The tasks and activities of TiP 1. Working group meetings /conferences 2. Design and pilot models of excellence in Family Visiting Centres in prisons. 3. Strengthening family networks in after care 4. Design and pilot a modular thinking skills programme, specifically for women. 5. Develop or adopt a non–language-based computer programme/CBT 6. Review and take forward further research into the concept of “Gate Fever” or apprehension towards release 7. Comparative analysis on the involvement of employers, including temporary recruitment agencies, in vocational re-integration programmes. 8. Participation in the development of a broader European Network 9. TCA Secretariat. Comparative analysis of the involvement of employers (Task 7) The preparatory meetings of the transnational partnership made it clear that the situation concerning the involvement of employers in ETE-programmes for prisoners was extremely heterogeneous in the countries involved, especially with regard to temporary recruitment agencies. Consequently, it was thought to be useful to describe the situation in these countries in a systematic way and/or to provide qualitative case-studies that can be used to develop a “transferable” best-practice model. Therefore, the aims of this final report are to give a comprehensive overview of the labour markets of the participating countries, and to summarise and compare the employer surveys undertaken by the TiP partners and their resulting employer engagement work.

1

For more information see the website www.zubilis.de

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

6

2. The development of the labour markets in Hungary, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Germany (by Georg Langenhoff, DE) The European Union is the economic area with the biggest Gross Domestic Product worldwide. In the European Union (EU) with its 27 member countries live 485.2 million inhabitants.2 The total number of people of employable age between 16 and 64 years amounts to 326.9 million, therefore 94.5 million people do not belong to the working population (children, students, housewives/-husbands, early pensioners). Altogether, the working population amounts to about 232.2 million persons. With this number the European Union is also one of the biggest labour markets worldwide. Fig. 2.1: Employment Rates - annual average rates in NL, UK, HU and DE 1990-2006 in %

80

74,3

75

72,9

73,2

70,8 71,7

68,5

70

71,2

71,5 67,2

67,7

65,4

64,6

65 65,6

61,8

60,7

60

55

64,3

EU (27 countries) The Netherlands (NL) United Kingdom (UK) Hungary (HU) Germany (DE)

56,3

56,9

57,3

52,1

50 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

E mployment rate. E mploy ed persons aged 15-64 as a share of the total population of the same age group – harmonis ed w ith population data and N ational Acc ounts.

Source: EUROSTAT

In the European Union the average employment rate was 64.3% in the year 2006 and the unemployment rate was 7.9%3. Within the Union the individual rates of some of the countries clearly differ from the European total average. The figure above shows that this also applies to the four European countries that are partners in the transnational partnership TiP. In Hungary the employment rate is fairly low with 57.3% (2006): This rate is seven points under the EU-average. A gender-differentiation shows that the employment rate of women in Hungary is especially low and reaches only 51.1%. With that number it is about six points under the total European average rate of women (57.1% in 2006). The employment rate of the male population in Hungary compared to the female population is clearly higher with 63.8%. But compared to the European total figure of male employment (71.6%) this rate still shows a big distance. A closer look at the figures makes clear that the Hungarian employment rate for the year 2006 is the highest figure in the period of the last 10 years. Since the data collection by 2

Data source for chapter 2: EUROSTAT data bank; using annual average values of the year 2006 throughout; URL: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1090,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL 3 Data of the EU-labour survey from the EUROSTAT- data base (for 2006 temporary figures); number of unemployed people of the total employable population (normally not identical with the national unemployment rate). 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

7

EUROSTAT began (1996), the employment rate of the population at 52.1% in 1996 rose by more than five points to 57.3% in 2006. The employment rate of Germany (67.2%) exceeded the total European annual average 2006 by more than three points. Over the course of time the employment rate decreased in Germany in the 90s and reached a low in the year 1998. After increases between 1999 and 2001, the employment rate once again decreased. Only in the past two years under report did the employment rate increase again. This especially goes for the last year under report (2006), during which the same employment level as in the beginning of the 90s could finally be achieved. A gender-differentiated examination shows that there is a big difference between the employment rates of women (61.5%) and men (72.8%) in Germany. The distance of the employment rates between the genders is, as in Hungary, more than ten points. It is also interesting that in both countries a continuous increase of employment rates of women can be found. Thus, the employment rate of women in Hungary between 1996 and 2006 rose from 45.2% to 51.1% and in Germany from 55.3% to 61.5%. The employment rate of women in the United Kingdom (65.8% in 2006) and in the Netherlands (67.7%) are much higher. This reflects, among other things, the better labour market situation of both countries, because the employment rate of men in both the United Kingdom (77.3%) and in the Netherlands (80.9%) is clearly higher, too. With 11.5 points, the distance between the employment rates of the genders is also much higher. In sum, the current labour market situation in the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands is quite relaxed and the employment rates (with figures of 71.5% 74.3%, respectively) are clearly above the EU-average (64.3%). Whereas this rate in the United Kingdom in the last ten years hardly changed, (only moved between 70% and 72%), the Dutch employment rate showed a fairly dynamic course. Thus, the employment rate in the Netherlands was merely 61.8% in the beginning of the 90s. By this time the rates in the United Kingdom and also in Germany were, with figures of more than 65%, much higher. After that, the Dutch employment rate rose steadily in the 90s and in 1998 already exceeded the 70%-mark. The increase continued even after the Millennium and in the last year under report the employment rate reached a new maximum value of 74.3%. This rate was simultaneously the highest within the 27 member countries of the European Union in 2006. The counterpart of the employment rate is the unemployment rate. It shows directly the deficits of the labour market.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

8

Fig. 2.2: Unemployment Rates - annual average rates in NL, UK, HU and DE 1990-2006 in %

12 10,2 9,6

9,5 9,1 8,4

8,6

8

7,2

6,9

7,1

6,8

6,4

7,9 7,5

5,8

5,7 5,3 4,7 4,6

4

3,9

EU (27 countries) The Netherlands (NL) United Kingdom (UK) Hungary (HU) Germany (DE)

2,2

0 1990

1991

1992 1993

1994

1995

1996 1997

1998

1999 2000

2001

2002

2003 2004

2005

2006

U n e m ploy m ent rate . U n e m ploy ed perso ns a g e d 1 5 an d m ore as a s h a re of th e active po p ulatio n in the s a m e a ge grou p – harm onis ed w ith n atio na l m o nth ly un e m p loy m e nt estim ates . S o u rc e : E U R O S T A T

The courses of the unemployment rates in general mirror the development of the employment rates. Even here, the positive current situation of the Dutch labour market stands out with an especially low unemployment rate, which was only 3.9% in the last year under report (2006). This rate is not even half as high as the European total average (7.9%). The Dutch unemployment rate in 2006 is not even the lowest figure over the course of time. In the period from 2000 to 2002 the unemployment rate in the Netherlands was under 3%, which virtually means full employment. As the figure shows, this situation did not occur in any of the other three partner countries. After 2002 the unemployment rate in the Netherlands rose noticeably, and doubled within only three years. In the year 2005 the rate was 4.7%, whereas it decreased again in the last year under report. In the United Kingdom the unemployment rate clearly rose in the beginning of the 90s and even exceeded the 10%-mark in the year 1993. Since then, the unemployment rate continuously decreased over 12 years and reached a low with 4.7% in the year 2005. In the last year under report (2006), however, it rose again and reached a figure of 5.3%. With that rate, which is clearly under the European average (7.9%), the situation of the British labour market is quite positive compared to the European one. As the unemployment rates in Hungary have only been reported by EUROSTAT since 1995, there are no figures for the European comparison for the first half of the 90s. For the second half of the 90s a clear decrease of the unemployment rates can be seen in Hungary: the rate decreased from almost 10% to under 6%. Hereafter a stagnation of the unemployment rate set in until the year 2004, which remained around the 6%-mark. However, from 2004 to 2005 the rate increased rapidly to 7.1% and an increase can be noticed even for the last year under report. With 7.5%, the Hungarian unemployment rate now is near the European average. Since the beginning of the 90s a wavy course can be noticed in the unemployment rate in Germany. Thus, the rate noticeably rose between 1992 and 1997 from 6.4% to 9.1%. After that, it decreased and was at 7.2% in the year 2000. The positive trend here ended and the unemployment rate rose again. In the year 2005 it reached 9.5%. Only in the last year under report did the situation on the German labour market relax and the increase in 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

9

unemployment could be stopped. The unemployment rate decreased to 8.4% in the annual average 2006 and herewith was 0.5 points over the European total average. With that figure, it is the only country among the four partner countries above the European total average unemployment rate. Fig. 2.3: Unemployment Rates of women and men- annual average rates of 2006 in NL, UK, HU and DE

12%

men women

9,1% 7,8%

8%

8,8%

7,7%

7,2%

7,1%

5,7% 4,9% 4,4% 4%

3,5%

0%

The Netherlands (3,9%)

United Kingdom (5,3%)

Hungary (7,5%)

Germany (8,4%)

EU (27 countries; 7,9%)

Source: EUROSTAT

A gender-differentiation of the unemployment rates shows interesting variations. In general, the national level of the unemployment rates affects the level of the gender unemployment rates. Thus, in transnational comparison the Netherlands takes first place with their lowest unemployment rates for women as well as for men. With a rate of 3.5%, the labour market situation for men in the Netherlands is especially positive, whereas the unemployment rate of the women is about 0.9 points higher. In the United Kingdom the following peculiarity can be noticed in a transnational comparison: Here the situation on the labour market for women is even better than for men. The difference between the rates amounts to 0.8 points, and with that it is for women about one seventh lower than for men. The unemployment rate of men in the United Kingdom is 7.2% and with that it is even above the total European rate of men (7.1%). In Hungary, the gender-differentiated unemployment rate shows the lowest differences. With 7.8%, the unemployment rate of women is about 0.6 points higher than of men. In the comparison of the four countries, the highest unemployment rates of men as well as of women occur in Germany. Whereas the rate of men is 7.7%, the rate of the German women is 9.1. With that the German labour market shows the worst prospects for job placements – especially for German women.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

10

3. Specific labour market developments in the TiP partner countries 3.1 The Hungarian labour market (by Péter Hégely, HU) During the years preceding the transition in 1989/90, the stagnation and decline of the Hungarian economy showed more and more obvious signs, and the external political circumstances (the weakening of the Soviet Empire) and the internal social and economic processes contributed to a peaceful political transition and economic orientation change that could be accomplished from political, economic and social points of view in Hungary. During the last 16 years the economic and employment structure of Hungary underwent a radical transformation. After the changeover about half of the industrial capacities became redundant, tens of thousands of people became unemployed mainly in the previous heavy industrial regions and mining districts. In parallel with the unfavourable processes, Hungary became one of the significant target countries for investments in the region at the same time. The foreign capital has significantly contributed to the performance of the Hungarian economic indexes for years. Since the transition, the development of the Hungarian economy has practically closely followed the world economic processes, and it is especially sensitive to its changes. In 2005 the growth slowed down, but it was slightly faster than the characteristic trend of the first years of the millennium. In 2004 the gross domestic product increased by 5.2%, in 2005 by 4.1%, thus at a higher rate than the average of the extended EU, but at a slightly lower rate than that of the new accession member states. The growth is essentially export-controlled; a significant part of the export having exceeded the import for years. This is due to multinational enterprises settling down here. (This is well demonstrated by the fact that such companies as Audi, General Electric, Philips or Samsung are commonly found among the “largest Hungarian companies”.) In 2005 the export of goods and services increased by 11% (in 2004 by 16%), the import increased by 6.5% (in 2004 by 13.5%). The export boom is mainly based on the active sale of the processing industry, within it that of the machine industrial branches, in the foreign market. This was made possible by the significant investments in industrial processing and the favourable external demand in previous years. The government's austerity programme required by the high deficit of the budget caused a decline of investments in 2007. A relapse or minimal increase in investments is expected in Hungary in 2007, but the increasing stability of the Hungarian economy, and the positive effects of the EU funds will probably cause an increase in investments in 2008. Assuming that there will be no backward steps in measures to establish a macroeconomic balance, experts expect a 2.8-3.2 % economic growth, with a 10-15 % expansion in export, and stagnant or moderately decreasing private consumption and investments in 2007. They calculate an acceleration in the economy in 2008 with an improving investment climate, and steadily expanding private consumption. From social and economic points of view significant regional disparities can be observed considering the relatively small size of the country. Starting from different positions, the different regions of Hungary responded to the socio-economic challenges of the market economic transition very differently, which strongly deepened the regional disparities within the country and significantly transformed the area structure of the country. While before the transition the regional disparities were primarily evident in the standard of the population’s infrastructure and the availability of public services, by now the disparities of income and employment have become decisive elements in the regional differences. A wave of mass unemployment swept over the country, and the locations where it began are still perceived today as its greatest concentration points, despite all the strengthening and normalisation that the economy has undergone in the intervening years.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

11

Fig. 3.1.1: The socio-economic spatial structure of Hungary

dynamically developing, of high status Developing, of increasing status catching up, of medium status stagnant, of low status Underdeveloped, of low status Source: www.vati.hu As shown in the figure above, besides the predominance of the Capital and its agglomeration, most of the regions of relatively favourable status can be found in Transdanubia. The dynamical regions of Eastern-Hungary usually reflect the favourable situation of large cities. Most of the underdeveloped regions are the peripheries of the former industrial districts, or are rural areas usually burdened by an unfavourable social composition (migration of young people with marketable knowledge, low number of graduates, high proportion of Roma population), lack of workplaces, poor accessibility and relatively unfavourable state of public services. If the development of the regions is examined in the context of the EU extended in 2004, perhaps the regional differences become even more evident: the GDP per capita in Hungary is about 60% of the EU average, although it increases year-by-year. The Middle-Hungarian region, the leader of the Hungarian scale, almost reaches the performance of a region that can be considered average in the Union (its specific GDP is 96.5% thereof), while Budapest itself even exceeds it (125%). The West-Transdanubian region including Győr-MosonSopron does not reach the two-third point of this international average, despite the fact that the improvement in 2003 was the most significant here (almost 4 percentage point). The indexes of the least developed North-Hungarian and North Plain regions reach only about 38-39% of the Union average, so they take the 247th and 249th places among the 254 regions of the EU. At the beginning of the nineties the most important features of the Hungarian labour market were the dramatic reduction of employment and economic activity, a rocketing increase of unemployment, and alongside these the complete restructuring of the employment structure. The number of registered unemployed persons reached its peak at the beginning of 1993, when it exceeded 700,000, from that time a continuous reduction can be observed. One of the important features of the Hungarian labour market is that the number of both the registered unemployed persons and the employed persons is relatively low, furthermore, they are greatly determined by the regional deviations described in the previous section. The average unemployment rate was 7.2% in 2005, while the rate of employment was 60.1% for those of working age, which falls behind the average value of the European Union by about 10%. As regards the distribution of unemployment, it is worth noting that the rate of 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

12

unemployment among 15-24 year-olds is very high (19.3%), which somewhat exceeds the average of the extended EU with its 25 members (18.8%), too. An increasing economic activity characterised the whole of 2006. The rate of employment increased by 0,4 %, the economic activity rate increased by 0,5 %, and the unemployment rate increased by 0,3 %. The number of the employed rose by 29 thousand people to 3 million 930 thousand, and the number of the unemployed increased by 13 thousand to 317 thousand people on annual average, compared with 2005. The number of inactive people decreased by 42 thousand, it is 3 million 475 thousand, the lowest since 1994.

3.2 The Dutch labour market - perspectives for ex-detained women (by Roland Wolters, NL) 3.2.1 The labour-market in the Netherlands Demand for labour •

In 2006 employment has increased by 100,000 jobs. The 2002 level has been reached.

•

Practically all new employment is created in the industrial services.

•

Other sectors such as care showed a modest growth.

•

A sharp growth in the number of jobs is forecast for 2007.

•

In the medium-term, a further growth is expected to take place in the care, construction and commerce sectors.

•

In the public sector and the financial services there are plans afoot to increase the level of education required for jobs from secondary to higher level. Those educated to secondary level will be restricted to the industrial services, care, construction, restaurant business and commerce.4

The decreasing trend of employment, which set in in 2002, has been broken. A great number of the extra jobs have been created in the industrial services, while this sector incorporates only 18% of the total employment. After the industrial services come the health-care and welfare sectors. The health-care sector showed a constant growth between 2001-2004, but has somehow levelled out since 2004. Expectations in the short and intermediate term The Centre for Work and Income (CWI) predicts that the number of jobs in 2007 will increase by 2%, this amount to 162,000 jobs. According to the CWI, the growth will mainly occur in the IT, industrial services, care and the retail trade sectors.5 In the intermediate term, the CWI predicts an employment growth of 1.6% in the period 2008-2011. This amounts to about 130,000 new jobs annually. The CWI starts from a 1% annual growth in production, and expects employment to grow particularly in the IT, care, commerce and construction sectors. The labour force The total population between 15 and 65 years of age was 10,971,000 persons in November 2006. Of this population, 7.5 million people were employed or looking for employment in November 2006. That is an increase of 109,000 compared with a year before. The labour participation amounted to 68.6 % in 2006, an increase of 1% compared to 2005.

4 5

Labour-market analysis 2007, April 2007, Board for Work and Income. Centre for Work and Income, CWI, 2006, Labour-market prognosis 2006-2011, CWI, Amsterdam.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

13

The working population has grown faster than the total population thanks to a higher labour participation. Especially the participation of older persons has increased. Certainly the 55+, but also persons between the ages of 45-55 years more often remain available for the labour-market. The promotion of the participation of older persons is an important fact of the labour-market. In the meantime, Finland is a frontrunner in Europe with a specific policy that achieved a labour participation of 53% among Finnish workers between the age of 55 and 64 years. In the Netherlands 46% of the 55-64 age group is working. Supply versus demand Developments in 2006 In 2006 the number of vacancies increased across the board. By the end of 2006 there were 225,000 vacancies. These were more than 54,000 above the number of vacancies in 2005. The growth was the strongest in the commercial and industrial services. In the other sectors the vacancy demand remains as yet a little below the level of 2000, but it is nevertheless high. Expectations The ROA (Research Centre Education and Labour-market) expects shortages in providing personnel in a number of sectors until the period 2010. Besides, differences in the level of education are also visible. In the care-professions, labour shortages are not expected at the basic and intermediate level of vocational qualifications, but are possible at the higher levels (40% of hospital staff are in the latter category)6 Labour-market mobility To be productive on the labour-market, it is of importance that employees change jobs or profession in order to maintain, in the best possible way, the match between their competence and ambitions on the one hand, and the demands of the work on the other. The rate of labour mobility tallies with a period of high economic performance. Employees take advantage of the growth in the number of jobs to change positions. The number of employees looking for another job in 2002 was 8.8%, in 2004 it increased to 12.6 %. The mobility is highly age dependent. Young people change jobs frequently, because they are still in the orientation phase. The mobility of employees can help the adjustment to the changing labour demands of employers. Those changes from the demand side often induce a shift of employment from one to the other sector. That is why it is important that employees are also mobile beyond the sector borders. The scope of unemployment and industrial disability The rate of unemployment has declined strongly in the Netherlands. In 2005 there were still 483,000 unemployed. In 2007 this has declined to 357,000 persons. In 2007 5% of the working population is unemployed, while a year earlier this was still 6%.7 About 4.5% of the unemployed are men and 6.8% women. The unemployment among natives in 2006 was 4.3%, among foreigners 11%. Especially the Antillians with 16.4% and the Moroccans with 17.2% score high. In 2007 the number of people on unemployment benefits in the framework of Work and Social Security (WWB) declined from 328,000 in 2005 to about 300,000 in 2007. The WWB mostly contains long term unemployed people who are very difficult to placed into a job It is estimated that about 50% cannot be placed into a regular job.8

6

The labour-market towards education and profession till 2010, ROA, Maastricht, 2005. CBS Press report PB07-039, May 15, 2007. 8 SZW Press report 07/030, April 13, 2007, Decline of the number of welfare recipients since the introduction of the new law on welfare.

7

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

14

The number of people on unemployment benefits in the framework of the Law on Unemployment (WW) has declined from 306,000 in 2005 to 249,000 in 2006. The Law on Unemployment insures employees against the financial effects of unemployment. After a person has become unemployed, he/she has a right to remain on unemployment benefits for a maximum of three years. The number of people on unemployment benefits had risen rapidly between the end of 2001 and 2005, when the number began to decline. The number of people on unemployment benefits is expected to decline to 193,000 in 2007.9 In 2005, 899,000 people had rights to a WAO/WIA benefit. The Work and Income Law (WIA) sets benefit levels according to ability to work. The law supplements the income of those partially disabled and provides benefits for those fully disabled on occupational grounds. By the end of 2007 the number of persons on these benefits will have declined to about 820,000. The number of vacancies The number of vacancies has, in the meantime, increased in the first quarter of 2007 to about 212,00010. According to the Centre for Work and Income, the number of vacancies will increase over the whole year to 1.1 million, because a record number of people will change jobs. The working population consists of about 7.1 million persons. The role of the employment agencies The General Association of Employment Agencies (De Algemene Bond van Uitzendbureau’s) has 340 members who represent 70% of the total. The turnover of the employment agencies has grown by 19% in 2006 to 5.5 billion Euros.11 In 2005 there were on average 239,000 people per day working as a temporary employee. These employees worked 149 days on average. In total, 690,000 people worked as a temporary employee in 2005. About 20% among the members of the Medium-and Small Enterprise Association (Midden- en Kleinbedrijf, MKB) used temporary employees in 2005.12 About one in seven employees work via an employment agency, with the MKB as an important employer for temporary employees. The MKB incorporates 731,000 companies and 4,200,000 employees.13 3.2.2 The position of women ex-prisoners on the Dutch labour-market The Dutch Prison Service provides 860 places for women. About 3000 women a year remain for a period in detention in the various Penal Institutions (P.I.’s). Of the total number of places for women, about 17% is intended for women with a sentenced prisoner status. This means that about 500 women receive a prison sentence annually. The imprisoned women are detained in four different locations across the Netherlands: Zwolle, Breda, Utrecht and Evertsoord. A personal supervision programme must begin while a woman is still in custody. The penal institutions offer offenders the opportunity to participate in training programmes and provide individual mediation and guidance. Work experience and on the job training can also begin during detention. If necessary, assistance is obtained from a partner that deals with specific problems. Mostly these are related to child care and housing. These education and work experience projects are already established in our penal institutions. Normally, offenders in our penal institutions follow a programme of 26 hours of work, and the rest of the time participate in education programmes, welfare work or other activities. The 26 hours of work in the penal institutions are the responsibility of the penal institutions themselves. 9

Facts and figures, Statistics notebook 2006, UWV, 2007. CBS 21-5-2007, Voorburg. 11 Flex & Figures, February 2007,ABU, Figures and trends from the employment agencies branche. 12 Jan de Kok et al, Flexible labour in the MKB, Zoetermeer, February, 2007. 13 MKB Netherlands, New chances for the MKB, Annual report, 2007. 10

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

15

Background Women in the Netherlands are often the main carers for children, family and their wider social environment. In the last decades more and more women have started working. Also, government policy is focusing on – and starts from the principle of – the participation of women in the labour-market. The combination of labour and care for family-members makes a heavy burden on women. More heavy than for men, who besides work mostly have limited care duties. After a detention period it is often more difficult for women to pick up every day life. There is a range of problems that need to be solved: mental health problems, care for children, no work, no accommodation, debts and hardly any education. Admittedly, during detention women have the possibility to attend programmes and parts of programmes which aim to facilitate labour-adjustment after detention, but further assistance from the Justice Department (probation) is only possible through an obligatory probation-contact imposed by the judge. The major part of our target group does not have this obligatory contact. How do women get imprisoned and who are these women? Most women are imprisoned because they have been found guilty of a drug-offence (46%), a violent offence (20%) or an offence against property, most often theft (13%) (DJI, 2002). The drug-offences are mostly trafficking, and when women commit violence they tend to do this within their own circle. The motive for committing these crimes by women is often economic; they can be looked upon as poverty crimes or as survival crimes (Beth, 1999). Many women do have a disadvantaged social position, they are poorly educated, and in 2001 only 40 per cent of the women had a job before being imprisoned. But the economic motive for offending often has a complicated background of sexual violence, missed educational opportunities and social and economic poverty. Offenders are often characterized as poor, young, poorly educated, single, a mother and often a foreigner (Covington, 1998). From the report 'Women in Detention' (DJI, 2002) it becomes apparent that the majority, namely 59 per cent of the imprisoned women, were not born in the Netherlands. The proportion of women born in the Dutch Antilles and Suriname came to 19 % together in 2001. In the meantime, this figure has increased to 32% for Antillian and 16% for Surinamese women. These women are mostly convicted of infringing the Opium-law by trafficking drugs to the Netherlands (DJI, 2002). Especially during the past 30 years, there has been a massive migration from the Antilles to the Netherlands. The majority of the Antillian people who come to the Netherlands are from a low social and economic societal group, who lived in one of the 15 poverty-stricken suburbs in Curaçao. These are people who do not master the Dutch language or speak it badly, are dependent on social benefits, have many problems finding and keeping a paid job, have a high school dropout rate, have a debt-problem, have difficulty to obtain adequate accommodation and often make a mistake. The situation on the Antilles has been characterised by a poor economy, as a result of which a culture of poverty has existed. Because of the poverty many civil values have disappeared and there is a perception of an increase of the use of drugs and criminality. To escape this situation, many people run away from the Antilles to the Netherlands, because they are in possession of a Dutch passport and they have free access to this country (Schrils, 2002). Last year Brandsma conducted research into the target group of Zorgconcept. The research presented the following overview14 : • 76% are not married • 72% are unmarried mothers with on average 2 children • 83% have a low level of education, of whom 46% only have primary school 14

Gender-specific re-integration for ex-detained women with Balancing the Future, Ingrid Brandsma, Faculty of Law, March 2007. 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

16

• • • • •

71% have debts, of whom 24% have more than 10,000 Euro 50% have an inadequate housing situation, of whom 8% are homeless, 9% rely on social relief, 13% are sub-tenants at an acquaintance, 12% live with family and 8% in private rooms.15 62% were not born in the Netherlands, of whom 32% were born in the Antilles 72% had a sentence between 1-4 years 18% need support with coming to terms with traumas and other mental health support.

A job before detention? Research from 2002 indicated that 40% of women had a job before imprisonment. Recent research by Brandsma indicates that about 58% reported to have had a job before detention and that 48% had received social benefits, of whom 30% WWB, 9% WW, 4% WIA/WAO and 5% other. A job after detention?16 It is established that practically all women call directly upon social welfare upon release. It is unfortunately of great importance to bridge the first period after detention. This period is often crucial in the resettlement process. Besides, it presents the opportunity to obtain education or a work/training contract. It still occurs that ex-offenders cannot have money to their disposal for weeks and therefore cannot work at their resettlement. They are also dependent on facilities handing out food-parcels. About 50% of the women do not have a fixed abode and on that basis cannot be placed directly to work. Besides, 72% of the women are unmarried mothers with several children by more than one father. The women take the children's upbringing in their own hands because the fathers are mostly not in the picture anymore or are often unemployed. A large part of the women balance on the edge of poverty directly after detention, as a result of which a lot of work has to be done to prevent re-offending. The first months after detention are the most intensive for the case-managers of Zorgconcept and the family-supervisors of Humanitas. Job qualification After a period of stabilization, clients are referred to education or orientation by carrying out training-work programmes, work experience, etc. The orientation, work experience and education is mainly carried out during the WWB period. In consultation with the various Social Services, Zorgconcept sets up programmes and supports women in all possible areas. Mostly there are about 4 or more different life areas that are causing problems.

15 16

Project affiliation after care, Ministry of Justice, DJI, Sector directorate Prison Service, June15 2006.

Annual report Balancing the Future, Zorgconcept foundation, 2006.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

17

Fig. 3.2.1: Job Qualification

Job Qualification kwalificering voor 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 education

orientation

work experience

Durable placements After the orientation starts the placement into a job, in 2006 this has led to the placement of 22 women into work: 10 do voluntary work, 6 have a job for the first time, and 7 undertake other purposeful activities. Those still in detention can, for instance, attend an educational programme or obtain work experience as part of a prison programme. Zorgconcept places into work by means of using jobhunters and maintaining contact with a network of companies. Over time, it has become clear that resettlement has to be carried out as part of a process. Many women who were directly placed into work had an enormous relapse after a period of time. Often, much has to be organized in relation to housing, finances and children, and after a few months they cannot manage anymore. Therefore the supervision is focused, first of all, on solving the primary problems. When this is on track, placing into education and work can be done accordingly. Some of the women are still on welfare and in an orientation phase. Five women receive social benefits via the UWV. A number of women do not have any income, because they are still busy with a WWVB application or because the application has been refused; for instance because the identity papers were missing. It is about a total of 43 women who carry out different forms of work, that is, 29% of the 147 women who are receiving support. It is known from research that 42% of the women have finally found a steady job during the period 2002-2005. An important aspect of the resettlement of ex-prisoner women are the training-work programmes. This is, for instance, about simulating work where the clients are taught all aspects of a clerical job. After six months they receive a certificate and are placed into a regular job. Other forms are: working in public green areas, voluntary work in health care, voluntary work with foundations in an environmental field, or presenting information with Delinquence & Society. The programmes last about 6 months, where a minimum of 40 hours of work has to be done. The supervision in general is intensive, because many matters have yet to be arranged.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

18

With the upward trend in the economy it has become relatively easier to find a job. But most problems that occur after detention, the low education, the lack of work experience and the care for children are a lasting cause of anxiety. In particular, the support by mother-companions of Humanitas is an important component of the supervision of these women. From literature about gender-specific resettlement, it also becomes apparent that investments have to be made in this area. Fig. 3.2.2: Durable placement

Durable placement

25 20 15 10 5 0 regular job

voluntary job

first job

social active

The role of employment agencies The role of the temporary employment sector is negative in a practical way for this target group. When completing the standard form, the applicant is asked about his/her previous convictions. When the potential temporary employee answers truthfully, the chance of a temporary job is almost settled. When the form is not completed truthfully, the chance of work is substantially bigger.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

19

3.3 Recent labour market developments in the North West of England (by Ilona Haslewood, UK) This section will summarise some of the key features of the regional labour market in the North West of England in 2006 (as compared with the labour market in England as a whole), at the time when an employer survey was carried out by the University of Manchester on behalf of IMPACT (see Chapter 4.3). In addition, the section will briefly review available national data on the employment of ex-offenders. 3.3.1 The regional labour market in the North West of England The employer survey was conducted in the first quarter of 2006, during a period of relative economic stability. In line with long-term regional trends in the UK, the spatial differences in economic performance were comparatively large between the regions. The distribution of disposable household income as well as job opportunities was best in the South East and London regions, and poorest in Northern Ireland, Wales and the North East of England.17 In terms of these indices, among the nine regions of England the North West region was in the middle, approximately on par with nearby regions (Yorkshire and Humberside, West Midlands and East Midlands). National and regional statistics produced around the same period (February-April 2006)18 show that the employment rate among the working age population in the North West region at this time was 73.7 per cent, slightly beneath the England average of 74.9 per cent.19 This was the third lowest rate among the regions of England (after London and the North East), but it was on par with the West Midlands region that contained a similarly large conurbation. The employment rate of working age men in England was some nine percentage points higher than that of working age women (79.3 as compared with 70.1 per cent) in FebruaryApril 2006. Although employment rates were lower in the North West than the England average, the difference between the employment levels of men and women was lower, six percentage points (76.8 and 70.5 per cent, respectively). The rate of unemployment in the same period of February-April 2006 was 4.8 per cent in the North West, lower than the England average (5.3 per cent), and among the lowest of the nine regions of England. It was a fairly stable period in the labour market, with the rate of employment being 0.5 percentage points above, and the rate of unemployment 0.2 percentage points above, the rates of the previous year. The proportion of registered unemployed women in the North West was lower than the England average, and was the second lowest among the regions (4.3 per cent, as compared with 4.9 per cent in England). This was also the case for registered unemployed men in the region (5.3 per cent in the North West, 5.6 per cent nationally). In the three years preceding the survey, the long-term falling trend of heavy industry, agriculture and manufacturing jobs continued, and so did the increasing trend of jobs becoming available in the services sectors and construction. This happened against a background of an overall increase in jobs: approximately 75 thousand more jobs were reported to exist in the region in March 2006 compared with March 2003. Conversely, the number of manufacturing jobs decreased by approximately 42 thousand during this period. 17

See e.g. www.statistics.gov.uk/regionaltrends39/ for further details, and especially the analysis by New, D. and Virdee, D. (2006) http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/RegionalTrends/Article1RT39.pdf. 18 The figures quoted in this section are based on National Statistics sources (such as the quarterly Labour Force Survey, the Business Survey and Jobcentre Plus figures), as opposed to EUROSTAT. As a result of some differing data processing protocols, the figures produced by the two sources may be very slightly different. 19 Source: Labour Market Statistics North West, June 2006, National Statistics. http://www.cesi.org.uk/statsdocs/0606/lmsnwest0606.pdf Calculations of the working age population were based on persons aged between 16-59 for women, and 16-64 for men. 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

20

The number of workforce jobs (including self-employment) in the region in March 2006 was 3.424 million, the third largest volume of the total in England (25.901 million) after London and the South East.20 As the Figure below demonstrates, the majority of the approximately 3 million employee jobs (not including self-employment) were in the services sectors: almost half in the distribution, transport etc., finance and business services sectors, and nearly a million in the education, health and care, public administration and other services sectors. Manufacturing and construction together offered another half a million jobs, but traditional jobs such as mining and agriculture were fewer than ten thousand each. Figure 3.3.1: The distribution of employee jobs in the North West of England, March 2006

Distribution, transport etc., finance and business services Education, health, public administration and other services sectors Manufacturing Construction Mining, energy and water supplies Agriculture, forestry and fishing industries Source: Labour Market Statistics North West, June 2006

3.3.2 The employment of ex-offenders The employment rates of ex-offenders in the UK are not surveyed regularly. Figures are known from occasional surveys, and some of the available data tends to be based on estimates. It is certain, however, that the employment rate of ex-offenders is substantially below that of the average population. The recent Government Green Paper that set out a strategy for reducing reoffending through increasing ex-offenders' skills and employment levels estimated that two-thirds of offenders were unemployed, compared with approximately five per cent of the working age population.21 The available employment figures for particular ex-offender groups are similarly bleak. Based on information from pre-sentence reports, a survey carried out a few years ago by the Association of Chief Officers of Probation reported that 26 per cent of offenders supervised by Probation Services in England and Wales were in employment.22 As regards prisoners, the report produced by the then Social Exclusion Unit at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (SEU 2002) put the employment rates of prisoners before entering custody at about a third for male prisoners, and at one-fifth for female prisoners.23 A resettlement survey among nearly 2000 prisoners who were due to be released into the community in the next four weeks reported that 30 per cent of them had employment, training or education arranged for their release. However, the distribution varied between prisoner groups: the lowest proportion who had employment, training or education arranged for release was that of female prisoners (22 per cent), followed by adult males (29 per cent), whilst nearly half (46 per cent) of young offenders aged between 18-20 had some 20

Source as above. Home Office, Department for Education, and Skills and Department for Work and Pensions (2005) Reducing Re-Offending through Skills and Employment. Cmd 6702. London: The Stationery Office. 22 Association of Chief Officers of Probation (2000) Offender Employment Statistics Summary. London: ACOP. 23 Social Exclusion Unit (2002) Reducing Re-offending by Ex-Prisoners. London:Social Exclusion Unit. 21

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

21

arrangement. Importantly, the same survey found that those who had been in employment, training or education in the four weeks before custody were much more likely to have this also arranged for release than those who had not (59 per cent, as opposed to 17 per cent).24 As a consequence of the low employment levels among the people dealt with by the criminal justice system, their needs in the area of employment, training and education that are assessed as related to their offending are considerable. The evaluation of the second pilot of the OASys assessment system (based on a sample of assessments undertaken in 19992000) showed that 52 per cent of the assessed offenders had offending related needs in this area. Having an offending-related need linked to employment, training and education was also a significant predictor of reconviction: 64 per cent of those assessed to have this need were reconvicted within two years of release from prison or commencement of a community sentence.25

3.4 The German labour market and the development of the temporary employment market (by Georg Langenhoff, DE) With approximately 81.5 million inhabitants, Germany is the state of the European Union with the biggest population. About two thirds of the population is of working age between 15 and 64 years. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt), a total average of 36.6 million persons were employed in Germany in 2005. The breakdown of the economically active population was 4.1 million self-employed persons, 0.4 million people collaborating in a family business as family members, 2.2 million civil servants, 19.1 million white-collar workers und 10.8 million blue-collar workers. The share of women among those in employment was in total 44.8%. In the individual employment groups the share of women is very different. The ratio of women among the selfemployed is the lowest at 29.3%, among the blue-collar workers 31.7%, and among the civil servants 36.7% were female. However, among the white-collar workers the share of women was dominant (55.9%) and even more so among persons collaborating in a family business (75.5%). Among the economically active population the blue-collar workers and the white-collar workers predominate. On September 30th 2005, in total 26.6 million persons of the nearly 30 million blue-collar and white-collar workers received a payment covered by social security contributions of more than 400 Euro per month. Over this payment level social security is ensured, so that in case of unemployment a payment of unemployment benefit is granted if the claimant fulfills the qualifying conditions26.

24

Niven, S. and Stewart, D. (2005) Resettlement outcomes on release from prison in 2003. Home Office Research Findings 248. 25 Howard, P. (2006) ‘The Offender Assessment System: an evaluation of the second pilot’. Home Office Research findings No. 278. 26 Insured employment of at least 12 months in the last two years before the beginning of unemployment. 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

22

Fig. 3.4.1: Employment covered by the social security system and unemployment in Germany between 1994 - 2006

10%

29000000 28643850

9%

28000000

8,4%

8,3%

8%

26882900

27000000

7%

Employment covered by social security system* Unemployemnt rate**

26000000

6%

5%

25000000 1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Quelle: Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA) und EUROSTAT

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006*

* Employment covered by social security system at 30th Sept., value of estimated 2006 **ratio of unemployment of the labour force population– mean values of the years (EUROSTAT)

The timeline of employment rates covered by the social security system in Germany presents a mirror image to the course of unemployment rates. Thus, the number of insured employees declined from 28.6 million persons in 1994 to 26.6 million in 2005. The downwards trend could only be stopped after a long period, in the last year under report (2006), when the number of insured employees rose to 26.9 million. A comparison with the unemployment rate27 makes it clear that there is a close negative correlation between the two developments.

27

The definition of the EU-unemployment rate (see above) is not comparable with the unemployment rate of the German Federal Employment Agency.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

23

Fig. 3.4.2: Temporary Employment in Germany - female and male employees 1994-2004

598284

600000

Men Women together

500000

449379

400000

300000

200000 134443

148905

100000 109550 24893

0

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006*

1994-2005: mean values of the years ; 2006: value from 30th June Quelle: Federal Labour Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit – BA)

The development of the temporary employment market in Germany stands out against the previously shown developments in the total labour market. Whereas the number of insured employees clearly declined since 1994, the number of temporary employees steadily grew in this period. Accordingly, clear increase rates can be observed within the temporary employment market until the year 2001. This trend was interrupted in the years 2002 and 2003. However, after 2003, the number of temporary employees increased again. The number of employees in temporary employment agencies rose rapidly in the last year under report (2006), so that a new peak was reached with nearly 600,000 employees. An increasing demand can be found for temporary recruitment agencies with high growth rates for both genders. In general, women are catching up clearly and for them the growth rates are even higher. On the 30th of June 2006 in total nearly 150,000 women were employed by temporary employment agencies, this is about one fourth of all temporary employees. The official statistics of the temporary labour market show that 61% of workers were without employment before. Therefore, temporary employment agencies help hundreds of thousands of workless people every year to get into insured employment. Moreover, the temporary employment agencies do not need any subventions for their contribution to the labour market. In total there are about 7,800 pure temporary employment agencies Germany-wide, which an exclusive or predominant business purpose of hiring-out labour28. They are predominantly established in economical conurbations. Their key business is recruiting staff and putting them at the disposal of various customers. According to the latest statistic of the Federal Employment Agency (“Bundesagentur für Arbeit”) in August 2006 the number of companies whose main or second business was temporary employment was about 16,500. Nevertheless, Germany only is a middle-ranking country compared to others in the European Union. In contrast, England offers the biggest temporary labour market worldwide, as measured by the number of the total employed persons at 1.45 million. Here, 5% of all persons in employment work for temporary 28

According to the Federal Employment Agency the number of temporary employment agencies is not identical to those temporary employment agencies being authorized, because the latter can report for legally dependent branches. According to estimates about 4,500 real temporary employment agencies in Germany can be assumed. 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

24

employment agencies. In the Netherlands (240,000 temporary employees) this rate is at 2.5%, in France at 2.1%, in Belgium at 2% and in Germany at 1.5% (year 2006). These comparative figures make clear that Germany does not make full use of the potential which temporary recruitment agencies offer. Especially those groups who have to be re-integrated into the labour market can benefit from the developments in the temporary employment. This also includes women and men being released from prison. The project MABiS.NeT29, a Development Partnership of the European funding program EQUAL 1, found that the highest and most successful re-integration rate of released prisoners who obtained qualifications during detention was achieved in cooperation with temporary employment agencies. The probationary period of the employee starts with the first day of employment at the agency. The temporary employment agency doublechecks and takes full responsibility for the performance of the employee in terms of meeting the requirements of the customer company. In this way the employer is able to get to know the employee under authentic conditions during the temporary employment and then can decide whether to convert the temporary contract into a permanent one. Through this method the cooperation with a temporary recruitment agency replaces time-consuming and expensive recruitment work for the employer. Especially for ex-prisoners, against whom employers often have prejudices, job-placement by a temporary recruitment agency can be reasonable, because the information that the employee has prison experience is not given to the customer. The employer only sees if someone works well. This is a chance for exprisoners, because an otherwise existing barrier is no longer there, and the ex-prisoner can prove his/her vocational qualifications and skills. Vocational education and training traditionally plays an important role in prisons in North Rhine-Westphalia. Inmates can participate in courses offering educational and vocational qualifications during their detention. In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) this is modularly structured and ranges from basic seminars through certification courses to complete professional qualifications. Prisoners in an open prison above all have the possibility to undertake vocational education and training outside the prison (and also attend university in the day-time). For prisoners in the closed section of a prison training and education is provided within the prison. In total, there is a capacity of about 1,300 places within the prisons in NRW (year 2006). Thus, the prisons in NRW offer a wide range of training possibilities and cover various types of vocational work. In the year 2006 the total number of prisoners who took part in a vocational qualification programme, was 3,735, among them 1,960 were in youth prisons and 424 in women’s prisons. In 1,072 cases the programme lasted over the year 2006. Among the 2,663 participants who terminated their programme in 2006, 61.0% obtained a certificate. In 39.0% of cases the qualification could not be finished successfully. The most frequent reason for terminating the programme was release from prison (n=308); only in a few cases was the qualification program finished because of failing the exam (n=76).

29

The Criminological Research Department of North Rhine-Westphalia (Kriminologischer Dienst des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen) was responsible for the coordination of the Development Partnership (DP). Please ask for further information to DP MABiS.NeT there. 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

25

4. The involvement of employers – the activities of the four TiP partners and the main results of the employer surveys In the last two years a range of different activities have been completed by the four TiP partners as part of the task of “involving employers”. In three of the development partnerships participating in TiP (Hungary, the United Kingdom and Germany), surveys were also integrated in these activities. As the table below demonstrates, the surveys undertaken by each project covered their own local geographical region. In accordance with the partners' priorities, the surveys focused on different sections of the employment market: employers offering temporary jobs in Germany; those seeking skilled sheet metal workers in Hungary; and in the UK a range of employers reflecting the local employment market, as well as those who had an emphasis on promoting the employment of people from minority backgrounds. Table 4.1: Summary of employer survey methods across three TiP partners DE Geographical area covered Number of surveys Time of survey(s)

North RhineWestphalia 2 1. Spring 2006 2. Spring 2007

Range of respondents

Temporary employment agencies

Number of respondents

1. n = 302 2. n= 302 Electronic and postal questionnaires, online questionnaires and telephone interviews

Main methods

HU North-West Hungary 2 1. May 2006 2. Dates: 19.11.2006. 15.02.2007. 05.03.2007. 1. Companies employing sheet metal workers 2. Business people visiting Sopronkõhida Prison 1. n = 44 2. n = 18 Postal questionnaires, telephone interviews, face-to-face consultation

UK North-West England 1 January-March 2006

A cross-section of employers in the region; Black and Minority Ethnic-led employers n = 205 + 44 BMEled employers Postal questionnaires, face-to-face consultation

This chapter will summarise the main outcomes of the surveys from the three partner countries. More details are provided in the Appendix. The chapter will also review some of the other activities resulting from the surveys that the four partners undertook in order to involve employers in their work with ex-offenders. As regards the employer involvement activities, it must be noted that some of them are still work in progress, and for this reason it was not always possible to include these in the present report.

4.1 Involvement of employers – the activities of the Hungarian TiP partners (by Péter Hégely, HU) 4.1.1. Attitude survey among potential employers (May 2006) A central aim of the project, also declared in the original proposal, is that potential employers have to be involved in the process, if possible. As it is commonly known, persons with a criminal record are at a complex disadvantage of labour market opportunities, which is essentially determined by objective factors (low-level qualifications, job experience, personality disorder, etc.), but it is also determined by the prejudice of the external world.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

26

According to our previous enquiries, no questionnaire survey has sought to examine the attitudes of companies connected with the project on the subject of the employment of released persons or the target group in Hungary so far. We obtained an address list including about 150 enterprises from our partner organization, the County Labour Centre, that indicated their interest in employing metal workers at the county branch offices in the previous years. At the first stage of the survey, 30 enterprises were selected randomly from the list, which were contacted by telephone with the intention of completing the attached questionnaire. From among the 30 enterprises 2 proved to be unavailable, and a further 4 enterprises gave a categorically negative answer after the aim of the query was made known to them. In May 2006 in the first part of the survey the questionnaire was sent to a further 125 enterprises by post. 20 enterprises returned the questionnaire before the specified time-limit. The results obtained in the two stages of the survey were consistent with one another, no significant deviations were experienced. Due to the low numbers, the replies cannot be considered as representative, rather, our primary aim was to map to what extent potential employers were receptive to the objectives of the project and what they thought about the released persons’ chances for access to employment. The distribution of the 44 companies responding by telephone or post according to size*: Ø Private enterprise

10 pc

Ø Micro enterprise

5 pc

Ø Small- and medium-sized company

27 pc

Ø Large company

2 pc

*Micro enterprise: less than 10 employees, revenues equal to max. EUR 2 M; small- and medium-sized company: less than 250 employees, revenues equal to max. EUR 50 M; Large company: more than 250 employees, revenues over EUR 50 M. About 70% of the surveyed enterprises (31 pc) described their market position as stable and becoming stronger, which corresponds with the generally measured company trends in the processing industry (see the survey described in Section 5.1, according to which 60% of the surveyed respondents thought that the market position of their enterprise was good). 15% of the enterprises (7 pc) felt their position weak or weakening, and 6 enterprises did not answer the question. Fig. 4.1.1: 'How do you judge the market position of your enterprise?'

How do you judge the market position of your enterprise? (%) 50 40 30 20 10 0

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

It does not know / answer

Weakening

Weak

Strengthening

Stabile

Adatsor1

27

General conclusions that can be drawn on the basis of the labour market assessment enquiries Ø A majority of the enterprises feel that their position is stabile and becoming stronger; about 40% of them plan to increase their labour force in the following period. Ø The labour market demand towards the trades offered within the frame of the project is significant, as there is a shortage of good and reliable skilled metal workers at present. Ø About 25% of the responding enterprises have direct experience of employing former convicts; their attitude to work was judged by the enterprises as similar to that of other employees'. A majority of the respondents are open to the possible employment of released persons belonging to the target group of the project, the level of prejudice against the target group is relatively more favourable than that could have been expected previously and generally. Ø About 40% of the respondents have heard about the EQUAL programme and the project in Sopronkőhida, there is a relatively significant interest in visiting the project and making personal contacts. Attitudes related to released prisoners’ access to employment In the last part of the questionnaire those surveyed evaluated the role of each characteristic, circumstance and external feature from the point of view of the released persons’ access to employment on a scale of 1 to 5. Table 4.1.1: The importance of various factors in released persons' access to employment Denomination Skills, expertise, qualifications Job experience Attitude to the work, working culture Adaptability Family background Residential place, living conditions Appearance, behaviour Social relationships External assistance, mentoring Social and communication skills

Mean grade* 4.6 4 4.3 3.85 3.55 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.45 3.85

*(Note: In Hungary the best grade is 5, while the worst grade is 1) Source:

The received answers suggest that the responding potential employers consider the factors directly connected to the work as the most important, with suitable qualifications as the most outstanding. They consider those factors which are not in direct connection with the employment as relatively less important. At the same time, it is noted that the relevant sociological studies confirm the special importance of these factors (see living conditions, family and social relationships). 4.1.2. The main outcomes of the employers' meetings organised by the Prison of Sopronkőhida Based on the survey above, our project organised 3 visits to Sopronkőhida Prison for potential employment companies in our region (29.11.2006, 15.02.2007, 05.03.2007). We invited the representatives of the local and the county media as well for the first occasion. Unfortunately, the interest was lower than we expected. Out of the 150 companies that were contacted by telephone or mail only 32 were interested, but out of these only 18 participated in the end. A visit lasted about 3-4 hours, and consisted of visiting the employment facilities 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

28

for prisoners in Sopronkőhida, followed by a workshop. All the participants filled in an evaluation questionnaire at the end. The main outcomes are below: Ø 15 participants had never been to similar meetings Ø 10 enterprises had working relationships with another enterprise employing convicts Ø 16 participants have changed their opinion about the employment of convicts in a positive direction Ø 14 participants have changed their opinion in connection with the possible employment of a released person in a positive direction Ø About 14 participants thought that these kind of meetings would significantly improve the released persons’ reintegration into the labour market Ø 18 participants would recommend the participation in visits with a similar purpose to other employers Ø 13 participants might employ a released person Ø 17 participants asked for information on the further progress of the project Based on our results so far, the Borderline Development Partnership is going to undertake a survey in cooperation with other Hungarian EQUAL partnerships on the attitudes of employers in Hungary, and the more successful reintegration of disadvantaged people in the labour market. We plan to publish the results in a reference book that helps increase the employment of disadvantaged people in the middle of 2008.

4.2 Involvement of employers (by Roland Wolters, NL) Some of the ex-prisoner women are hard to place into work because they simply miss opportunities through a lack of education, and problems with accommodation, language and child support. During the detention hardly anything is done about this. Besides, ex-offenders in general are not a target group municipalities are interested in. Recent research about the municipal benefits indicates that ex-offenders are nowhere mentioned while they often constitute at least 10% of the WWB population. An exception is the Eindhoven municipality. Women are already visited during the detention and a programme is devised in collaboration with all the partnership organisations, through intensive co-operation. The result is that the programmes are progressing successfully and herewith re-offending declines and social participation increases. Zorgconcept places into work by means of, and through the commitment of, jobhunters and a network of companies we keep in contact with. A general policy as regards the structural involvement of employers in the training, recruitment and in the provision of work experience is missing in the Netherlands. As a matter of fact, only Balancing the Future has developed a coherent policy to prepare imprisoned women for their release from prison. By making contact with individual employers we are able to find a job for many women. The detention is not the greatest problem, the lack of education, accommodation and financial problems are. The new policy in the framework of reducing re-offending puts the emphasis on after-care carried out by many municipalities. In many municipalities, so called co-ordinators are appointed. This does not lead to a coherent policy in the Netherlands, because every municipality can draw up the job specification of these co-ordinators and determine their position within the municipal apparatus. In short, there are 460 municipalities and 460 different co-ordinators. Also, a coherent policy concerning ex-offenders is missing in the labour unions, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment and other departments, while in the coming years an urgent need will arise to offer this target group also a social perspective and job opportunities. This is important not just in order to reduce the astronomical re-offending or to fill up the number of vacancies, but also because we have to deal with 72% women with children who are in general under-age.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

29

4.3 Engaging with employers – the activities of the UK partners (by Ilona Haslewood, UK) 4.3.1 Consultation with employers In order to fulfil one of the key aims of the IMPACT project, to successfully engage with employers both at a strategic and practical level to increase employment opportunities for specific multiply-disadvantaged groups of ex-offenders, an up-to-date survey was required to gather employers’ views on, and support needs for, employing ex-offenders. The survey included a broad range of employers that might come into the focus of the engagement strategy: different types of organisations (public, private and voluntary), various sectors (construction, manufacturing, retail, etc.), and a range of employer sizes. Likewise, the survey elicited the views of employers in the region where IMPACT operated. The consultation was carried out in two main ways: the Criminal Justice Unit at the University of Manchester conducted a postal survey among employers in January-February 2006. In addition, IMPACT organised two consultation events for organisations that had a particular focus on employing people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds. In total 42 employers participated in these events (33 completed the postal questionnaires as well), the majority of whom came from a South Asian background. The postal survey covered four key areas: the recruitment and the experience of employing ex-offenders, the most important skills employers sought, and the most useful forms of support for employers when considering ex-offenders for employment. The consultations with BME-led employers touched upon similar themes. The postal survey was returned by 205 employers in the North West of England (8.2 per cent response rate). In terms of sectors, the largest proportions of employers came from: § The voluntary sector – 20 per cent § Manufacturing – 17 per cent § Health/care-related – 17 per cent § Transport and warehousing – 7 per cent § Retail and Wholesale – 7 per cent § Educational – 7 per cent Most employers who responded to the survey were small and medium-sized, employing between 6-20 employees (37 per cent) and 21-100 employees (38 per cent). Seventeen per cent employed more than 100 people, and only eight per cent had five employees or fewer. Recruiting ex-offenders §

Relatively few employers appeared to actively promote the recruitment of exoffenders (12 per cent of the sample).

§

Approximately two-thirds of the employers in the survey requested information on job applicants' criminal records at the initial stage of the recruitment process, 60 per cent for all posts, and another seven per cent for some posts only. The largest group among the employers who did not request this information was from the manufacturing sector.

§

Only half of the employers, mostly the larger ones, were familiar with the legislation on the disclosure of criminal records (the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974). Awareness of the legislation was considerably lower amongst those companies that did not knowingly employ ex-offenders.

§

The vast majority of employers in the sample (93 per cent) would consider a job applicant with a criminal record for employment, but the type of their offence was seen as crucial. The relevance of the offence to the job was also seen as pivotal by most employers. A ‘hierarchy’ of offence types existed, whereby the majority of employers would never consider for employment those with convictions for sexual

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

30

offences (70 per cent) and arson (71 per cent), but only three per cent would not consider an individual with a driving offence. §

The most important factors that would dissuade an employer from employing an exoffender would be risk to customers and to staff ('very important' for 77 per cent and 73 per cent of the employers, respectively). The least important factors were lack of motivation to work hard and ex-offenders not deserving to be in employment (only one or two per cent of employers found these very important).

Employing ex-offenders §

A sizeable proportion of the employers in the sample (43 per cent) had some experience of employing ex-offenders either at the time of the survey or in the past.

§

More employers from the voluntary, the health and care, and the manufacturing sectors had experience of employing ex-offenders than from other sectors.

§

Significantly more respondents from companies with over 100 employees had experience of employing ex-offenders than those with fewer than 21 employees.

§

Only a fraction of employers (three per cent) reported negative experiences with employing ex-offenders. For the majority, (57 per cent) the experience had been mainly positive, and another 40 per cent had mixed experiences.

The most important skills and attributes employers seek While none of the skills listed below were seen as unimportant by employers in the sample, the ranking of skills seen as 'very important' makes it clear that alongside relevant job skills, the personal attributes necessary in a workplace were thought to be on par with these, and qualifications in themselves were not necessarily considered as paramount: § relevant job skills 85 per cent § reliability 81 per cent § lack of drug/alcohol abuse 81 per cent § honesty 81 per cent § personal behaviour 74 per cent § punctuality 73 per cent § professional qualifications 35 per cent § educational qualifications 31 per cent . The most useful forms of support, incentives and opportunities for employers Employers in the sample found the following forms of support and incentives the most useful: § Personal support for ex-offenders (e.g. mentor) - 63 per cent § Access to support for employers (e.g. nominated contact person) - 57 per cent § Guidance on risk assessments and safeguards - 55 per cent § Financial support for small employers employing ex-offenders - 47 per cent. Opportunities to meet ex-offenders proved the least popular, 10 per cent of the employers thought they would find this useful. Consultation with Black and Minority Ethnic-led employers The findings from these consultations were broadly similar to those that emerged from the postal survey, however, some subtle differences could also be seen, which was likely to be due, at least partly, to the fact that fewer among these employers had any experience of employing ex-offenders (12 per cent). §

Awareness of the legislation on the disclosure of criminal records seemed to be lower in the BME-led employer sample (approximately a third was aware).

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

31

§

The importance of job-related skills was also rated somewhat lower than that of personal attributes such as behaviour, honesty, reliability (72 per cent).

§

The usefulness of guidance on risk assessments and safeguards was ranked somewhat lower than among the employers in the postal survey (42 per cent), but the opportunity to meet ex-offenders would have been welcomed by a considerably higher proportion (47 per cent).

Recommendations The consultation findings gave rise to a number of recommendations. These included: §

Raising employers' awareness of the significance of the legislation governing the disclosure of criminal convictions, and providing them with relevant information.

§

Consulting further with employers from the sectors with the highest proportion of employers with experience of employing ex-offenders when developing an employer engagement strategy.

§

Offering personal support (for example in the form of a mentor) for the ex-offender and a nominated contact person for the employer.

§

Acknowledging employers' anxieties about risks posed by ex-offenders and working to reduce these by providing information and guidance on good practice in risk assessment and management.

§

As regards BME-led employers, it was recommended that face-to-face consulting be developed for further use, as this seemed a fruitful method of engaging with this group of employers. It was also recommended that the different religious and cultural reasons that employers cited as reasons for supporting ex-offenders into employment be explored in more detail.

4.3.2 Employer engagement activities Following the consultation with employers, and also drawing on the work already undertaken by IMPACT in its Phase 1 period, an initial framework for an employer engagement strategy was drawn up. The framework suggested many possible activities designed to engage with a wide range of employers. Engaging with employers from the Black and Minority Ethnic communities was also a strategic priority. The strategy resulting from the framework has, from time to time, been reviewed in the light of the experience, and the most successful activities have been selected for further development. Inevitably, some elements of the strategy could not be fully implemented and 'tested' in the time available. However, these provide further opportunities for developmental work in this important field. The strategy contains diverse activities in terms of aims, target audience and activity type. As a starting point, the activities in the strategy could be described as consisting of three main strands. The first strand is general information provision and awareness raising activities with all potential employers in mind, and also for any organisation working with ex-offenders to support them into employment. The second strand consists of more focused activities designed to gradually engage employers in co-operating with IMPACT on employment issues, as well as to work with and support already engaged employers. Finally, a third strand of activities could be described as strategic engagement and networking, aimed primarily at organisations that have a determining influence on economic development in the region or are support organisations for individual employers. This section will summarise some of the key activities in the strategy according to the strand they best fit into. 1. General information provision and awareness raising -

'Unlocking Potential' pilot seminar – this seminar was organised by IMPACT and took place in February 2007. Its main purpose was to pilot this event format for a series of further events aimed at bringing together representatives of IMPACT and its partner

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

32

organisations with employers. The seminar provided information on significant issues that the consultation indicated to be of concern to employers (e.g. information on criminal records, risk management) as well as on IMPACT's employer engagement work, such as the Charter initiative (see below). Approximately 40 participants attended the event, although relatively few of them were representatives of local employers. On the basis of the pilot, it was decided that further events would be organised in two main ways. Firstly, IMPACT would represent itself at other regional events where general information could be disseminated and initial contact made with potentially interested employers. Secondly, targeted events would be organised by IMPACT itself, for example for employers who were already engaged with IMPACT's work. -

Promoting the employer engagement agenda at regional events – in line with the decision taken following the pilot seminar (above), IMPACT staff and partners attended a number of events in the North West region in 2007 to publicise its employer engagement work. These events were organised around various themes such as the "Bringing Together Trade and Knowledge" business exhibition organised by the Asian Business Federation, and the "Disability Awareness Day", a voluntary-led large annual 'independent living' exhibition and festival event. A number of employers requested further information following the events, and some of them eventually became part of IMPACT's Employer Charter initiative.

-

Corporate Pack for employers – a range of information material has been produced as part of an information pack and good practice guide on employing ex-offenders. For example, an updated version of the 'Apply Within' interactive CD-ROM, produced in Phase 1 of IMPACT's work, became part of this pack, which contained information and case examples of the relevant legislation and fair recruitment practices. A concise handbook has also been developed for employers outlining their legal obligations arising from various pieces of legislation (including the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) that they must meet in order to comply with non-discriminatory recruitment practices.

-

Portfolio of Achievement – in Phase 1 of the IMPACT Project portfolios were developed for prisoners that recorded in detail their skills and achievements during their time in prison, and also included a personal statement from the prisoner and character appraisals from prison staff. The completed portfolios are used by ex-offenders to demonstrate their skills to potential employers, typically during a job interview. In Phase 2 of the project several prisons have begun offering the portfolios for their prisoners. Employment Liaison Officers employed by IMPACT have also provided training to prisoners on ways to use the Portfolio to their best advantage.

2. Engaging with employers -

Employer Charters – building on the Employer Charter developed in the previous phase of IMPACT, two charters are being developed in Phase 2. Both charters build on the broader 'corporate social responsibility' agenda and thus are geared to securing a commitment from employers that their recruitment practices are fair, they are committed to the values of diversity, and as part of this, they promote the employment of exoffenders. The charters differ in the extent of commitment employers make: the Diversity Charter is designed for employers that are not yet in a position to offer work trials or employment to ex-offenders. The Employer Charter goes further: as well as endorsing the values contained in the Diversity Charter, employers also commit themselves to offering work trials and/or paid positions to ex-offenders. To date approximately 25 employers and strategic organisations have committed themselves to signing a Charter, including a large national enterprise.

-

Corporate Management System – in order to build closer links with and provide ongoing dedicated support to employers who are willing to engage with IMPACT's work, a dedicated database of employers has been designed. The database contains details of employers at various stages of engagement, and at present contains approximately 100 prioritised employers. To ensure that they are supported proactively, an account

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

33

management system is being developed with a nominated IMPACT staff being in regular contact with specific employers. The staff training required for this work is currently being put in place. -

Regional Employer Vacancy Database – the purpose of this database is to match exoffenders with specific vacancies that arise with regional employers. This is a joint initiative between IMPACT and Jobcentre Plus30..The database is currently being developed by IMPACT, and will initially be delivered in pilot areas by Job Developers. The Job Developers are Jobcentre Plus employees who will approach employers to secure vacancies that ex-offenders may wish to apply for.

-

Mentors in the Workplace – As a way of offering personal support to newly employed ex-offender employees, IMPACT started to set up a training scheme for selected employees who will become mentors to ex-offenders in their workplace. The scheme will be operated via the Prince's Trust, working in partnership with IMPACT. A small number of employers have already indicated their interest in the scheme.

3. Strategic Engagement and networking activities -

Engaging with economic development organisations and employer organisations this part of the strategy facilitates on-going consultation with and feedback from employers, and is also a means to making an input into their future regional strategies. On-going consultation groups have begun on a regular basis with representatives of the North West Development Agency, as well as the regional branches of business organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Ethnic Minority Business Support, Business Link, Business in the Community, and with Business Venture, North West Enterprise Forum and with regional recruitment agencies, among others.

-

Economic Champions – a small number of leading business people from the region have been requested by IMPACT to 'champion the cause', i.e. to raise awareness of IMPACT's work generally, and of its employer engagement strategy, at a range of business fora and public events. Champions include senior members of some of the economic development and employer organisations listed above, a regional employer, as well as prominent representatives of groups that are marginalised on the basis of disability and race.

-

North West Employer Engagement Forum – the Forum is comprised of regional representatives of criminal justice agencies (the Prison Service, Probation, Police) as well as a small number of business representatives. The Forum is the result of a national and regional strategy aimed at reducing reoffending through a number of pathways, one of which is increasing employment opportunities for ex-offenders. The Forum has endorsed the IMPACT employer engagement strategy as an approach that is consistent with its own strategic aims. On the basis of this, the Forum's own strategy is currently being developed, thereby ensuring that central elements of the IMPACT strategy are taken forward beyond the life of the project. The transfer of the products tested by IMPACT is also of great importance. For example, the employer database and the corporate management model is likely to be transferred to one or more of the prisons for maintenance and future development. This may also help promote closer on-going co-operation between prisons and local employers, including regular feedback on local labour force demand, and may in some cases lead to employers directly becoming involved in providing training for prisoners. Other ideas explored by IMPACT, such as providing specific training for employers already engaged in the Charter initiative, for example on risk assessment and management, and setting up a telephone support line for employers on the legal framework of employing ex-offenders, also remain future possibilities.

30

Jobcentre Plus is the government agency responsible for welfare payments as well as for offering a job brokerage service to job seekers and employers. 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

34

4.4 The ZUBILIS-Labour-Market-Survey (by Georg Langenhoff, DE) 4.4.1 The concept behind the first and second wave of the ZUBILIS-Labour-MarketSurvey The high unemployment rate in Germany with a persistent mass unemployment is one of the focus points in Germany. Every day a lot of information and various reports appear on the labour market situation. In this context, vocational qualification is a very important theme. But the reports on this subject often only refer to one (industrial) sector or one profession and do not include a complete overview of all occupations. This is a shortcoming. There is also a gap in comprehensive information on qualifications needed and job placement chances for ex-prisoners. The objective of the first ZUBILIS-Labour-Market-Survey was to close the information gap. The first wave dealt with the question of occupations that are in especially high demand. In this context, information on qualifications that were especially sought, and the potential of released women and men as regards finding jobs was requested. The first survey was carried out in the spring of 2006. As chapter 3.4 explained, temporary employment provides a special potential to place exprisoners into work. The largest association of German temporary employment agencies “Interessenverband Deutscher Zeitarbeitsunternehmen (iGZ)“ is a project partner (operative partner) of ZUBILIS. IGZ is an employers’ association with about 1,000 member companies and about 2,000 branches. The iGZ-members employ about 125,000 temporary workers Germany-wide, which means one fourth of the entire sector.31 A further partner, “START Zeitarbeit NRW GmbH“, a company with more than 30 branches in North Rhine-Westphalia has also engaged with ZUBILIS. This company is an associated strategic partner in ZUBILIS. The second wave of the survey was carried out in the spring of 2007 and dealt with the question of what could be improved and made more efficient in the process of the transition from prison into the labour market from the temporary employment agencies' point of view. The second wave followed on from the first wave with questions on the implementation of job placements. In the second wave questions from the surveys of the TiP partners from Hungary and the United Kingdom could be integrated as well. In both waves of the ZUBILIS-Labour-Market-Survey the temporary employment agencies could take part in three different ways. One way was to complete an offline version of the questionnaire which was attached to an email. The second way was an on online-version of the questionnaire. As a third way, iGZ-members were offered to participate in the survey via telephone interviews (CATI). The number of participants in each wave was exactly 302 temporary employment agencies. But detailed analysis points out that these are not the same 302 companies. 82 agencies participated in both surveys, while 440 companies took part in only one of the waves. This amounts to a remarkable total number of 522 temporary employment agencies that participated in the ZUBILIS-Labour-Market-Survey altogether. 4.4.2 In-demand occupations In response to the question about the most frequently demanded occupations, the 302 temporary employment agencies gave altogether 738 responses. These responses split up only into 63 of the 335 German occupational categories32. The “TOP 10” occupations were as follows: 31 32

Data from 30 June 2006. The 335 occupational categories are due to the 3-digit occupation codes used in official statistics.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

35

Table 4.4.1: “Top 10” of the most frequently demanded occupations

Pos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Occupation code (3-digit) 270 Blacksmiths/metal workers 991 Unskilled workers 241 Sheet-metal workers 311 Electricians 273 Machinery and industrial mechanics 781 Office clerks 992 Unskilled workers - Production/Industry 220 Metal cutting mechanics 511 Painter/Varnishers 314 Electronic equipment mechanics

Responses (frequency) 81 75 68 48 39 29 28 19 19 18

Source: First wave of the ZUBILIS-Labour-Market-Survey

In this list the occupation "blacksmiths/metal workers" ranks first. This occupation was mentioned 81 times altogether. This means that more than one fourth of the agencies have a high demand here (26.8% of 302). If the more modern job title "machinery and industrial mechanics" (place 5) is also considered, then this kind of job has by far the best chances in the temporary labour market. “Unskilled workers” rank second (places 2 and 7). It is a traditional job in the temporary labour market. All in all, it is clear that metal and electrician professions are most frequently demanded at present. Occupations from the service sector are required comparatively less frequently: only one occupation can be found in the "TOP 10" ("office clerks”, in 6th place). In addition, places 11 to 25 also cover occupations from the care sector (nurse, geriatric nurse), graduate jobs (engineering graduate), the administrative sector (management assistant in wholesale, foreign language secretary) as well as new service sector occupations (call center agent). Thus, the in-demand occupations altogether reflect all qualification levels from the unskilled worker up to highly qualified professionals. 4.4.3 Need for qualifications and certificates The survey also asked the necessary qualification requirements corresponding to each individual occupation. From these data an exact job profile was formed for each individual occupation category. Regarding the basic qualifications, “reliability” and “punctuality” were most frequently mentioned across the sector. School leaving certificate was mostly requested in administrative and office occupations, whereas it was less important in the metalwork and electrician professions (63.8%). As expected, this ratio appears to be lower regarding unskilled jobs. Here only in every fourth case was a school leaving certificate requested by the temporary employment agencies (24.6%). A (completed) vocational training qualification is particularly requested in the metal and electrical jobs and in the office/administrative occupation. Here the percentages were 88.8% and 87.9%, respectively. With general service sector jobs these values decrease to 70.8%. The situation is different in the case of unskilled jobs: completed vocational training is requested only in a few cases. Thus, this sector offers equal chances for less qualified persons. The survey also asked about additional vocational qualifications. Only those job-associated qualifications which are certificated were considered. In the service sector additional 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

36

qualifications are required in approximately one half of the job placements. For example, knowledge of foreign languages, particularly English, was mentioned. In unskilled jobs there was a high demand for welding certificates, fork-lift licenses or crane driving licenses (depending on the occupation). 4.4.4. Occupational outlook for female and male ex-prisoners Fig. 4.4.1: Occupational outlook for female and male ex-prisoners

3,5

Unskilled worker

4,0

3,7

Metall/Electro

5,0

3,2

Administration

3,0

Women 3,0

Service

Men 3,8

0

2 Scale: from 0 (very bad) to 10 (very good)

4

6 agkd NRW / La

Source: First wave of the ZUBILIS-Labour-Market-Survey

The replies of the employers show that the labour market chances of male and female exprisoners are not poor. In the telephone interviews it was often mentioned that ex-prisoners deserve a “second chance” if they are willing to integrate and bring their qualifications and capabilities into work life. The chances of job reintegration differ for women and men. Whereas female ex-prisoners have better chances in administration and office jobs than male ex-prisoners, the male exprisoners have better chances in metal/electrical, service and unskilled occupations. But it is remarkable that female ex-prisoners have the highest rate with 3.7 points in metal and electrical occupations, too. In the second survey, the temporary employment agencies were asked about their experiences of employing ex-prisoners. Among these agencies there were also companies which had their (first) ex-prisoners through the development partnership ZUBILIS. The majority of the temporary employment agencies (58.1%) employ ex-prisoners.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

37

Fig. 4.4.2: Experience with ex-offenders 'How do you judge the efficiency of ex-prisoners?' 140

11 5

120

100

80

60

40

15

20

14 3

2 0

cle a rly a b o ve a ve ra g e

a b o ve -a ve ra g e

e qua l

u n d e r-a ve ra g e

fa r u n d e ra ve ra g e

*only agencies with experience of ex-offenders (n=149)

Source: Second wave of the ZUBILIS-Labour-Market-Survey

The agencies were asked about their experiences regarding the efficiency of ex-prisoners at work. As the figure shows, the picture divides itself symmetrically into two halves. This means that the efficiency of ex-prisoners is judged as good as those of other employees. This is a remarkable result contradicting reservations towards ex-offenders. Finally, the next figure continues the trend of positive experiences with ex-offenders at work. Only 6.4% of the agencies would never, and 4.9% would rather not employ an ex-prisoner. But 63.4% of the temporary employment agencies would place an ex-offender with appropriate qualifications, and another 25,3% would possibly employ him/her. And the willingness is still higher among employers with experience of ex-prisoners (72.2% and 20.4%). This is evidence of positive experience of the agencies with ex-prisoners. Fig. 4.4.3: Willingness to employ ex-offenders 'Would you employ an ex-offender with appropriate qualifications?' 100%

75%

no rather not

50%

maybe

72,2% 63,4% 25%

yes

49,5%

0% empl. with e.o.-experience

empl. without e.o.experience

total

n=265

Source: Second wave of the ZUBILIS-Labour-Market-Survey

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

38

Altogether, the results of the two waves of the ZUBILIS-Labour-Market-Survey show that there are chances of job placements for ex-prisoners - despite the tense situation on the German labour market. The best chances are in the industrial sector, particularly in metalwork and in electrician occupations. In general, the chances increase with qualifications, whereas the type of the qualification is more important than the number of certificates. The results of the second survey were published in the documentation collection of the development partnership ZUBILIS and were presented at various ZUBILIS events (e.g. conferences, meetings, workshops)33. This way the results were integrated into the various actions and activities of ZUBILIS. This applies in particular to the co-operation between the Prison Service, MABiS.NeT34, and employers, supported by the KrimD NRW.

33

The reports (in German) are published on the ZUBILIS-Homepage (www.zubilis.de) under „Veröffentlichung – Publikationen“. 34 MABiS.NeT is the North Rhine-Westphalian network of aftercare and recruitment service for exoffenders. MABiS:NeT was founded as a development partnership in EQUAL I. Now the network MABiS.NeT is funded by the Ministry of Justice of the state North Rhine-Westphalia. 2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

39

5. A comparison of the survey results and conclusions Chapter 4 summarised the findings of the surveys that three of the TiP national partners (the ZUBILIS Project in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, the Határszél Partnership in NorthWest Hungary and the IMPACT Project in the North-West of England) conducted among employers as regards the current situation and future possibilities of increasing the employment of ex-offenders. The surveys were designed to provide background information for activities that the Projects intended to undertake as part of their employer involvement work, therefore, they varied according to size, scope, and methodology. However a number of common findings emerged from these individual surveys which will now be summarised, together with possible future ways of drawing upon them. Despite the differences between the surveys, the themes that emerged as a result reflect a range of similar general attitudes and concerns among employers when it comes to employing ex-offenders35:

35

§

The most consistently voiced critical message from employers who participated in the surveys across the three countries was that an ex-offender must be seen as a reliable person in order to be considered for employment ('very important': DE 94 per cent, UK 81 per cent, HU 67 per cent). This was further supported by similar figures in two surveys as regards the importance of drug and alcohol abuse ('very important': UK 81 per cent, HU 67 per cent), which would be likely to affect an employee's reliability. Although relevant job skills were also seen as important by most employers, the significance attributed to personal qualities suggest that projects aiming to support ex-offenders into work should demonstrate that they are aware of this, and pay considerable attention to ensuring that these qualities are emphasised to employers in every appropriate case.

§

A varying proportion among the employers responding to the survey had any actual experience of employing ex-offenders (DE 58 per cent, UK 43 per cent, HU 25 per cent). However, few among those who employed ex-offenders had a mainly negative experience (UK 3 per cent), or thought that such employees' work efficiency was under average (DE 12 per cent). Similarly, in the Hungarian survey only one among the ten employers with experience of employing ex-offenders thought that these workers' attitude to work was worse than that of other workers' in similar jobs. This finding highlights the often found difference between expectations and reality, in this case between the concerns about potential ex-offender employees' reliability, and the experience of employing them. For this reason, suitable opportunities to put across the experiences of employers wherever possible may be a valuable method in dispelling low expectations and engaging more employers.

§

The surveys undertaken by all three projects confirmed that employers found personal contact the most valuable type of support in employing ex-offenders. For employers, this could be a contact person, for example if difficulties arose (DE 'very important' or 'important' 81 per cent, UK 'useful' 57 per cent); and for ex-offender employees, a nominated person (for example a member of aftercare staff or mentor) could be a source of personal support (DE 'very important' or 'important' 77 per cent, UK 'useful' 57 per cent). This need for personal contact confirms that many employers may be open to employing ex-offenders, but perhaps they would be more willing if specific support was available when needed.

§

The surveys show that a sizeable proportion of the respondents had information about the work of the ZUBILIS and Határszél Projects (HU 41 per cent had information, DE 44 per cent was well informed). Nevertheless, there is room for improvement in disseminating and publicising the Projects' activities.

The tables detailing the survey results are included in the Appendix.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

40

§

Finally, it emerged that only a fraction of the employers responding to the surveys would refuse outright to employ suitably qualified workers if they had a criminal record. A mere two per cent of the UK respondents would refuse to employ applicants solely on the basis of a criminal record, and a somewhat higher but still relatively small proportion (8 per cent) of the consulted temporary agencies in Germany indicated that they would not employ an ex-offender. This confirms that employers, at least in principle, are prepared to judge on the merits of individual applicants, which highlights the importance of equipping ex-offenders with job application writing and interviewing skills, with particular attention to appropriate ways of making a disclosure. The Portfolio of Achievement developed by the UK partner may also assist in enhancing the success of job interviews.

In conclusion, the comparison of the surveys from the TiP partner countries shows some noteworthy results. It is especially remarkable that the commonality dominates despite different preconditions, for example in the labour markets. The problems faced by exoffenders appear to be very similar. An example of this is the particularly problematic situation of female ex-offenders with children. As the Dutch Development Partnership “Toekomst in Balans - een nieuwe uitdaging” demonstrated, female ex-offenders with children are especially difficult to place into work – even in a relatively vigorous labour market like the Dutch one. The experience of the Dutch Development Partnership shows that this could be accomplished by professional case management. Further, the surveys in Hungary, the United Kingdom and Germany show that the views of employers in many respects do not really differ. The requirements and expectations of the employers regarding the employment of ex-offenders were mostly similar. From these results, specific actions can be derived for a more intensive cooperation and a more successful placement of ex-offenders into work. The actions already partially implemented by the national Development Partnerships have high potential for future development. Overall, all Development Partnerships could benefit from the results – even if they are at totally different stages. For instance, the Hungarian partner "’Határszél’ Fejlesztési Partnerség -Visszatérés a társadalomba” entered uncharted waters with EQUAL II and had to undertake a lot of foundation work during the past two to three years, which was a remarkable challenge. The employers willing to participate in the survey and the workshops in Hungary showed great interest in cooperating with the Prison Service. In Germany and the United Kingdom an encouraging number of employers were willing to cooperate with the prison services as well, even though it also became clear that engaging with and maintaining links with employers requires a considerable amount of time and resources. This interest from employers and the results of the surveys demonstrate that there are chances on the national labour markets for ex-offenders. As the „ZUBILIS”-labour market surveys show, the type of qualification is especially important for a successful reintegration into the labour market. This result and further national and transnational results of the surveys were integrated into other areas of ZUBILIS activities. This also affects the future co-operation between temporary recruitment agencies, the Prison Service and MABiS.NeT, the North Rhine-Westphalian network of aftercare and recruitment services for ex-offenders. The British Development Partnership „IMPACT” followed a similar trail. Thereby the planned and already implemented steps are shown in chapter 4.3. Finally, the comparison of the surveys suggest that similar recommended actions, activities and steps could be developed on the basis of the comparable situations of ex-offenders on the one hand, and of the similar responses of employers in the surveys on the other. This comparative work was also an example of the usefulness of transnational cooperation in the framework of the TiP partnership, and the importance of transnational co-operation for future projects.

2.39.7 - 2007_09_07 TiP - Task 7 - Final report

41

Appendix: A comparison of the survey results36 1.1

Employer Size

HU

Size of the company

UK

How many employees does your organisation employ at this establishment?

DE

Number of external staff

1.2

UK

DE

private enterprise 23%

HU

DE

large company 250+ 5%

Under 5 8%

6-20 37 %

21-100 38 %

101-250 11 %

More than 250 6%

1-9

10-19

20-49

50-99

100-499

500 and more

8%

6%

24%

23%

34%

6%

Sector/Branches In which sector of industry does your organisation belong?

Concentration of occupation

Retail Transp and Health ort/war Manufa wholes Public and Educati Private Voluntary eho. cturing ale Sector care onal utilities 20% 7% 17% 7% >1% 17 % 7% >1% Social/ Elementar Metal Medical y workers techn. Occupa Occupati /Electri Occupa ons cians tions Service Clerks tions 24%

1.3

Small- and mediummicro sized enterprise company