Offploy

Offploy is a social enterprise formed by ex-prisoners to help those with convictions secure employment and lead a positive life. Their mission is to support people with criminal convictions into meaningful, mentored and sustainable employment. This helps the UK fill its chronic skills shortage, reduces reoffending and makes society safer.

Offploy used their first investment to develop two strands of their work:

    1. Education

Offploy works with candidates through a nine-step candidate journey to ensure they have the best chances of securing and sustaining employment. Three of their stages are around education and their team of trained social employment advisors will deliver and refer candidates to courses specific to their developmental needs and the employer’s requirements. Offploy delivers a range of courses centred around motivation and employability as well as employer specific courses. Revenue is generated through fees from education providers and the DOJ.

     2. Justice personnel 

Offploy Justice Personnel recruits staff, typically without criminal convictions, into criminal justice sector organisations such as prisons, education providers and probation services. A fee is charged for this service just like other recruitment agencies and 100% of the surplus is reinvested back into helping people with convictions secure meaningful, mentored and sustainable employment.

Offploy used their second investment as bridging finance to support them to deliver a payment-upon-delivery contract that would support 720 ex-offenders per year for three years. 

Visit their website here: https://www.offploy.org/