Working to Change: Social Enterprise and Employment Strategy

The 'Working to Change' Social Enterprise and Employment Strategy sets out the department’s direction for supporting employment options for people with convictions by simultaneously working to remove the systemic barriers so that people can make sustainable changes.

It builds upon a solid foundation of employment supports already in place across the criminal justice sector and is a collaboration between the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service and the Department of Justice.

The 'Working to Change' strategy set out ambitious targets to increase the employment options for people who have criminal records and builds on a strong foundation of supports already in existence.

One of the actions of this strategy was to conduct a survey among this group to identify their attitudes, behaviors and perceived barriers to taking up employment.

The survey was created by people with a lived experience of being in prison, on probation, in the community of people with historical criminal records.

Surveys were carried out online and in person in various prisons across the country in conjunction with the services design team of the Department of Justice.

The survey aimed

• To understand the attitudes and behaviours of the target group in relation to employment;
• To understand the real or perceived barriers to securing employment;
• To help close the gaps and blocks identified through this survey.

See the Working to Change website.