Iceland-branded supermarkets are set to open in five more UK prisons this summer, as part of efforts to help prisoners prepare for retail careers after their release.
The new ‘retail academies’ will be operated by the charity Second Chance Partnership, which was spun out of the supermarket’s internal prisoner recruitment scheme, with the aim of creating thousands of roles across the food and drink supply chain for prison leavers.
Working to the same principle of an Iceland-branded store that opened at category C prison HMP Oakwood in April last year, the stores are entirely staffed and run by serving prisoners.
Those working in the store learn core retail skills like stock taking, handling deliveries and managing inventory. They are then offered interviews with the Second Chance Partnership, with a view to gaining a role at one of its member organisations ahead of their release.
The shops operate like a regular supermarket, serving the prison population. Prisoners can earn up to £15 a week in credit to spend at the store. Iceland provides the fit out, stock and uniforms to the charity at a cost.
Four of the new sites will be opened in private prisons operated by Sodexo and G4S, while one will also open in a publicly run prison. HMP Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, HMP Stocken in Rutland and HMP Fosse Way in Leicester are among the prisons set to receive new academies.
It marks a major milestone for the Second Chance Partnership, four months on from its launch following its spinout into an official charity, as revealed by The Grocer last year.
Read more: How retailers are giving prisoners a second chance
Led by Iceland’s former director of rehabilitation Paul Cowley, the charity identifies and vets potential prison leavers, who are then offered roles at its network of member companies, which include 2 Sisters, Iceland and logistics company GXO.
Cowley, a former prisoner, turned solider then chaplain, launched Iceland’s Second Chance scheme in 2022 after meeting Iceland founder Malcolm Walker.
Iceland has so far employed more than 500 former prisoners in its stores and warehouses through the programme. However, it decided to relaunch the scheme as a not-for-profit last year, in order to create more roles across the retail supply chain.
Cowley also wanted to encourage more private sector companies to businesses to recruit former prisoners amid a wider prisoner overcrowding crisis. MOJ stats show people are twice as likely to reoffend if they don’t find a job within the first six weeks of their release.
“Most companies don’t know how to employ men and women out of prison,” Cowley told The Grocer. “The way to encourage businesses to do it is to take the fear out of it.”
Members pay a fee dependent on the business size to support the charity’s operations. Cowley and his team of four then work with internal HR teams to place candidates and provide additional support to help candidates settle into their roles.
Second Chance does not offer roles to anyone convicted of murder, sexual offences or terrorism, nor anyone serving a life sentence.
“If you get all the organisations together, you’ve got the potential of up to 200,000 job vacancies,” Cowley said. “From class one truck drivers to warehouse assistants. Forklift drivers to farm workers. Now when we go to prison to interview we have a gambit of jobs to offer, rather than just retail assistant.”
Cowley was in active discussions with more than 30 prospective companies about becoming members, he said.
No comments yet