The Coalition has announced a ‘rehabilitation revolution' as part of their criminal justice reforms. Efforts to help former offenders get jobs must be central to this program; evidence strongly suggests that having a job reduces the likelihood of reoffending by as much as 50%.

Although there is a degree of resettlement support provided by the prison service and probation service, many former offenders are dependent on limited voluntary sector aftercare. Support ranges from skills training, assistance with job searches, action to tackle non-employment problems such as housing and drug abuse, and efforts to reduce employer discrimination. Below we showcase some of the most successful voluntary sector initiatives.

The Through the Gates pilot programme was launched by St Giles Trust in partnership with London Probation in 2008. It aimed to plug the gap between prison-based and community-based services, ensuring that offenders are supported before release, on the day of release and for some time after release. The services provided included housing support, benefits support and referrals to specialist agencies. An independent evaluation commissioned by Pro Bono Economics showed that the re-offending rate of Through the Gate's clients was 40% lower than the national re-offending rate.

Blue Sky Development and Regeneration is a social enterprise that employs former offenders exclusively in the grounds maintenance and recycling sectors. It combines this with training, support and encouragement with team supervisors acting as mentors and role models. In partnership with other organisations, Blue Sky helps employees make a successful transition into permanent employment and break the cycle of re-offending.

The Construction Youth Trust (CYT) works with several prisons in London and the Midlands to support young offenders into construction training and employment. Through one to one support, the Toolkit for Life project acts help offenders obtain skills, confidence and personal support networks. It provides employability training and careers advice, facilitates access to construction training within prisons, and brokers relationships with employers.

Switchback supports offenders aged 18-24 to build on skills learnt in prison kitchens. Ahead of their release, a mentor helps them plan for a stable future before meeting them on the day of release. At the Crisis Skylight Café in East London trainees receive professional training from café staff and can complete qualifications. Mentors help trainees to focus on punctuality, reliability and managing work relationships, as well as wider issues (where necessary) such as housing, mental health and substance misuse. Switchback also works with a range of employers to organise visits, work placements and job applications.

The Foundation Training Company (FTC) provides resettlement programmes in several prisons as well as running two community based programmes in London. The FTC intervention is tailored to the needs of the individual irrespective of whether they are in custody or the community. Incorporated into the model are elements of co-ordination, preparation and on-going support.

The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) based in New York City provides immediate employment services for people released prisons and detention facilities. It prepares over 2,000 people each year to move into mainstream employment, and has placed participants with more than 300 public and private-sector employers. The CEO model includes an in-depth orientation followed by intensive job-readiness training on CV writing, job-searching and workplace behaviour. Immediate paid transitional work is provided at one of CEO's worksites for an average of 2 months. CEO's job developers then work to match participants with employers in the longer term.

Along with third sector providers, there is an important role to be played by private sector companies such as National Grid Transco. NGT runs a pioneering programme to train offenders as gas industry operatives giving them the opportunity to improve their career prospects whilst simultaneously meeting the skill requirements of the gas industry.

A number of common themes cut across these successful schemes: effective partnerships, one-to-one relationships, individually tailored support, and continuity of care. However, the lack of co-ordination of resettlement services as a whole remains a major barrier. This is leading to gaps in provision, duplication, and an absence of reliable information. The challenge is to strengthen mutually beneficial connections between local authorities, practitioners and providers, as well as enhancing effective ways of working. One approach being considered by the Young Foundation is a ‘broker' to harness the best social entrepreneurship ideas and recommend investments by public sector commissioners. A network of such brokers could be a catalyst for change in the landscape of offender employment.

Another approach would be to pilot special purpose entities in areas characterized by major gaps in support. This would build on the existing work being carried out by various organizations - including the examples listed above - as well as welfare-to-work schemes from other fields. An Employment Deployer would combine a locally appropriate combination of managed mentoring, through the gate support, brokerage with employers, supported employment and access to appropriate training.