// Iceland is on a recruitment drive to hire former prisoners to work in its stores and warehouses
// The grocer has hired founder of Caring for Ex-Offenders Paul Cowley MBE as its director of rehabilitation
Iceland has hired a director of rehabilitation as it seeks to hire ex-offenders to work in its stores and warehouses.
The retailer has hired Paul Cowley MBE, who founded charity Caring for Ex-Offenders.
Cowley, who also wrote autobiography Thief Prisoner Soldier Priest, spent six months in prison before turning his life around with a 17-year career in the army. He later became a Church of England priest and was awarded an MBE for his services to ex-offenders.
Iceland managing director Richard Walker said of the appointment: “Paul is a legend. We’re massively excited to have him onboard, helping us to give people a second chance.”
READ MORE: Is Iceland right to prioritise affordability over sustainability?
Cowley revealed he had interviewed men and women at HMP Styal and HMP Onley for potential roles.
Iceland is the latest retailer to actively try to recruit former prisoners. It’s an approach that cobblers Timpson backs with approximately 10% of its workforce made up of people who have criminal convictions.
Meanwhile, Halfords has a scheme in which they train prisoners how to be bike mechanics while serving their sentences and offer jobs when they are released.
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