Event Details

Networking:  5:30 - 6:15 pm
Dinner: 6:15 - 7:30 pm
Program:  7:30 - 8:30 pm

Speaker:      Jennifer Webb-McRae  Prosecutor Cumberland County                                  

Topic:  The Hidden Job Market - Hiring individuals with Criminal Backgrounds

Description:

America today has more than seventy million inhabitants with a criminal record, and this number is growing faster than any other identifiable demographic in the country. This is a huge number of people who are having trouble finding work and making ends meet; often, the particulars of a person’s crime don’t matter nearly as much to a prospective employer as the fact that they have a record. Here are 5 reasons why you might want to consider hiring a convicted felon:

Hard-Working Individuals

While this is not universally true, it is demonstrably prevalent to the point where it should not be discounted. Ex-convicts are often intimately familiar with the concept of hard work. Many were compelled to break the law in the first place due to economic factors, and they are often grateful for the chance to demonstrate their value to family, friends, employers, and society at large.

Punctuality and Reliability

At first glance, it may seem exploitative, but ex-convicts tend to be both more reliable and more punctual than other employees. They are well-adjusted to operating on a routine, as this is a frequent coping mechanism used to help with reintegration. They are also keenly aware of the fact that, if they risk their employ, they will have very few options available to them. If treated fairly, ex-cons are among the most reliable employees available.

Long-term Employee Loyalty

With all the trouble they face finding employment, ex-felons tend to stay with a company that will hire them for a long time. It isn’t simply out of necessity, either; after a while, a skilled employee with a good record might be able to shop their skills around, regardless of various prior criminal affairs. These are human beings, who frequently show a considerable amount of appreciation and gratitude toward the person or organization that will provide for them when nobody else will. 

A Large, Diversified Hiring Pool

America’s demographic of formerly incarcerated persons isn’t just growing in size, or proportion; it’s also expanding across all walks of life. As such, it represents a diversified talent pool of individuals who offer a wide range of skills and abilities, across all levels of viable experience. This includes individuals with exceptional qualifications for virtually any job in existence, — and some of them have years, or even decades’ worth of academic and professional experience. 

Work Opportunity Tax Credit

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is one of several tax incentives available which will reward employers for hiring ex-cons. It is awarded to those businesses and other organizations who make it a practice to hire people from specific target groups, those who have traditionally faced substantial social barriers to employment. 

By hiring a convicted felon, you are gaining an employee from a demographic that is historically grateful for the opportunity to re-integrate with society in a constructive fashion. In addition, you help to send a message about the potential suitability of ex-cons to the professional workplace, and in so doing you work towards reducing the problem of one of the largest traditionally “unemployable” demographics in our nation’s history.

    WHO WILL BE THERE!

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Certification credit:  This program is approved for 1.25 general recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute.  Please be sure to note the program ID number on your recertification application form.  For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HR Certification Institute website at www.hrci.org.

The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program.  It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute's criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.

Approved for 1.25 PDC's