These frequently asked questions are relevant to our National Probation Service Exceptional Delivery model and may not apply to wider Offploy service. This post is intended for colleagues within the National Probation Service only.
What is your candidate criteria?
Our focus is to support those where employment ‘can be’ and ‘is’ a priority right now. It is a broad enough criteria to allow our team to make individual judgements, however, we are best placed to support people who:
Actually want a job right now or who are seriously thinking about it. We have face-to-face employability programmes for individuals not yet contemplating employment which we hope to resume soon.
Are not actively using drugs
Have some form of accommodation where they can receive post and register a bank account with
Are being supported by specialist services for other challenges such as mental or physical health, who we can work closely with to ensure Offploy and the employers appropriately accommodate their needs.
How do I refer a candidate?
1. Ensure the candidate meets the above criteria
2. Complete the referral form with the candidate’s consent
3. Log the correct NSI on nDelius (Speak with your ETE lead or SPO for this)
4. Upload the completed referral form to nDelius or email it to referral@offploy.cjsm.net
Are there any offence categories you do not work with?
No. We believe to reduce reoffending and make society safer we must support all people, regardless of conviction, to secure employment.
How is this different to the CF03 provision?
CF03 is co-financed by HMPPS and the EU to support those with multiple and complex barriers furthest from the market towards education or employment.
Offploy supports candidates who want to secure employment and where their main barrier to employment is their conviction. We will always prioritise a candidate on the CF03 programme if they are eligible and interested.
What support can my referral expect to receive?
We offer all candidates referred onto our service the following:
1. Goal Setting and Action Planning
The first activity we do with all eligible and interested candidates is to map out their long term vision such as 'getting my kids back', 'owning my own house' or 'working in a career I love' and set some SMART actions for achieving these, one of which will be securing sustainable employment.
2. Basic Employment Support
We are then able to support the candidate by advising them how and when to disclose their convictions; building CVs specific to their sector and their disclosure needs; increasing their skills and qualifications and we fund photo ID such as Driver's Licenses and Passports.
3. Enhanced Employment Support
For those who are the most engaging they will also be support with up to twice weekly one-to-one sessions bespoke to their need. We have a range of 30 interventions grouped into three phases
Phase one: Mindset, Confidence and Wellbeing
Phase two: Problem solving, Teamwork and Conflict Resolution
Phase three: Sector-specific Job Searching, Successful Interviews, Disclosing Convictions and Confidence in the Workplace.