New apprenticeship program to offer options for workers with criminal records

Checkr, a background examine firm, is launching an apprenticeship program known as Catalyst to assist hiring and coaching for employees with a prison file, according to a Nov. 12 announcement.

Employers can take part in a 2025 cohort, which can supply on-the-job coaching and mentorship for 12 months. To assist this, Checkr is funding two apprenticeship cohorts throughout the subsequent two years.

“During the last a number of years at Checkr, we’ve seen firsthand how truthful likelihood hiring — the observe of contemplating and hiring folks with data — results in a stronger enterprise, economic system, and group,” the corporate stated.

Through the previous yr, Checkr piloted a 12-month paid apprenticeship program throughout a number of industries. Primarily based on that have, the corporate will increase this system to extra employers.

Corporations that take part within the 2025 cohort can profit by implementing or enhancing their truthful likelihood hiring practices, tapping right into a expertise pipeline of motivated however usually underutilized employees, constructing a extra various workforce and offsetting prices utilizing Checkr’s monetary help.

Checkr can even accomplice with the San Francisco Workplace of Financial & Workforce Growth’s TechSF, which prepares employees for tech careers with no-cost profession pathing and skills-based coaching, in addition to The Final Mile, which supplies training and coaching as a part of an incarceration-to-employment program.  

For efficient second-chance hiring, employers can use inclusive HR practices and work with community partners targeted on previously incarcerated folks, consultants informed HR Dive. Recognizing biases and looking out past conventional background checks might help as effectively.

Throughout second-chance hiring interviews, corporations ought to practice empathy and consider the right questions to ask, consultants stated throughout a SHRM convention session. Potential employees might face obstacles associated to transportation or youngster care, as an example.

Direct incentives could help employers think about employees with prison data and higher implement second-chance hiring, in accordance with a research by College of Albany researchers. Specifically, a $2,400 tax credit score, $25,000 insurance coverage in opposition to losses and rehabilitation certificates gave the impression to be most useful and elevated hiring managers’ willingness to rent candidates with prior data.