Annually, 600,000 won people are released from prison, and many are looking for work. And because research shows that quality jobs can help prevent recidivism—not to mention work that is often part of probation or parole requirements — the “re-entry prisoner” field has focused on helping formerly incarcerated people build ready to work.
Tech companies in particular have begun to recognize their social responsibility in training those affected by the criminal justice system – through the lens of racial justice, and especially in the wake of the protests. love after the murder of George Floyd. In 2021, Google launched Grow with Google The Career Readiness for Reentry program, aims to “bring digital skillss for job seekers who have been previously detained.” The program funds several nonprofit organizations that support digital literacy, including Fortune Society and The Last Mile. Other organizations that focus more directly on helping people get jobs: Project Next Chaptert offers tech and engineering training, apprenticeships and coaching, recently helped three people who were incarcerated at Slack and plans to expand to 14 other companies. (In addition to technology, some companies, such as restaurants modern pizza and All squareshave also made hiring after release from prison central to their mission.)
There are benefits for the employer. People with a criminal record are often recognized because of how hard they work. The Association of Human Resource Management has made survey employers show that two out of three employers hired someone with a criminal record; of those employers, the majority agreed that employees with records performed as well as those without records, and often The most dedicated and long-term staff.
But research after research confirm that criminal records remain a serious barrier to employment, especially for Black people. And even if employers say they’re willing to hire people with a background in the legal system, they do not. Why is this? And if that’s the case, what can tech companies do to really make a difference?
A big body Research has documented how race and criminal discrimination negative impact recruitment situationespecially when employers also report concerns about workplace safety or negligent hiring practices, and even when these concerns not based on legal fact. However, less attention has been paid to how employers screen and hire people in the digital age — and how this can complicate job search efforts, even for those with most qualified candidate.
The average sentence in federal prison is a little more than 12 years. This means that people who have been released recently may have never seen ipadbut are competing with a workforce that is more than 80 percent of job seekers report using online resources during their job search and in environments where companies use more and more digital and virtual screening process. Many people who get out of prison don’t have a digital reputation, and if they do, usually dominate evidence of their criminal convictions. This means that those coming out of prison lack both the digital skills and digital reputation needed to secure steady employment. Programs like the one at Google help with digital skills, but they don’t always address the component of a digital reputation, for example, allowing people to request that their old photos be deleted. from search engine results.
