“Every prison is different, and every prison has its own problems,” says Eulina, a prison relationship manager who works for Only a Pavement Away – a charity which supports vulnerable people to find opportunities to work in hospitality. The organisation helps people with learning disabilities, as well as those who have experienced homelessness, and those with criminal convictions who are looking for work.  

She explains that the hospitality industry offers a unique opportunity for those who have spent time in prison to get back on their feet. She says: “It’s a very open and welcoming industry.  

“I work to identify people who want to work in hospitality – from entry positions like a kitchen porter, a kitchen assistant, a doorman, reception, front of house to chefs.  

“There are a lot of top chefs in prison. The industry is quite wide and open. We had somebody recently who was a kitchen pot washer, and over the five years she’s now a general manager.” 

With employment being key to prevent re-offending, and hospitality having historically been an industry with an abundance of jobs, it presents the perfect opportunity for both sectors to benefit from one another. However, both prisons and the hospitality industry are suffering systemic problems which are forming blockages to this process.  

She says: “Our main concerns are changes in national insurance, changes in the minimum wage, and changes in business rates. We have found that this has impacted the hospitality industry. People are not moving around as often or changing jobs, more institutions are closing down, and therefore there are fewer jobs in hospitality going around.  

“Now that more people are being released, we have to find more employers with vacancies. So, our main concern is whether we have enough employers to put people forward for jobs,” she added.   

These factors have been expressed by leaders in the UK hospitality industry as barriers to job creation. While mainstream attention has been given to the impact this has had on young people looking for work, it also has a knock-on effect on ex-prisoners looking for employment. The urgency of this issue has been elevated by the early release scheme.  

There are also different barriers faced by women who are released. Eulina explains: “From my experience, a lot of the female offences are to do with drug addiction, domestic abuse and coercive control. And lot of people in those circumstances, if they’re addicts and without the right treatment, return to prison.  

“I have also found that sometimes these women are being released to coercive partners and are also the main carer for family and for children, which presents difficulties because of childcare etc. I’ve also found women who are in prison for being drug mules. So, there’s a lot of trauma and the emotional baggage that some women have to work through before they get to employment.  

“But one of my colleagues said to me before she left, there is no science to this work. It’s not that men are more reliable than women, or women are more reliable than men, but they are usually facing different obstacles.” 

Eulina questions the “tough on crime” approach to criminal justice. She says that the questions society must ask itself are: “What do we want? Do we want someone who has come out of prison and their mental health has been properly addressed? Who has been given the opportunity to maybe look at their issues? And has developed employability skills to turn their life around? Or do we want somebody who is really angry? Who has learnt more criminal behaviour in prison?”  

Since Only a Pavement Away is a charity, it is not expecting any government funding from the upcoming budget. However, Eulina says that there are opportunities for the government to invest in a better and more productive prison system. For example, installing VR technology, so inmates are able to attend important personal events such as funerals from their compounds. Innovations like these could rapidly improve the mental wellbeing of prisoners, and set them on better paths after release.