Commissioned by Stoke on Trent College / City Break Project, and funded by the Stoke on Trent Safer City Partnership, the report delivers objectives of:

• Improving structures and mechanisms for joint working between the Probation Service and the employment and learning sectors
• Supporting improved understanding of offenders’ training and employment needs and opportunities, in order to develop initiatives to enhance offenders’ ability to enter the labour market.

Researched at the ‘coal face’, this important and informative report will be of interest to agencies and individuals tasked with supporting ex-offenders, employers and most significantly, people with criminal convictions looking to enter or remain in the labour market.

Stoke on Trent College Senior Contracts Manager, Jeremy Clay says, “We are extremely pleased with Wider Impact’s approach to this challenging commission. Their ‘coal face’ approach has certainly worked. We are now aware of what clients’ with criminal convictions are looking for in relation to their becoming employed. We are also aware of areas for development in terms of partnership working. In addition to delivering high quality research, they have made a number of important recommendations, which will assist in developing multi-agency strategic approaches in this important field of work.”

We would not hesitate to recommend Wider Impact, and particularly, Director, Edwin Lewis to others looking to carry out similar work’.

Agencies interested in commissioning Wider Impact can contact our team at enquiries@widerimpact.com