Manufacturing employers who decide to hire people with conviction histories are tapping into an underutilized workforce that is committed to performing well. To make these partnerships successful, however, businesses and local governments have to enact their own policies that encourage the personal and professional growth of formerly incarcerated employees and prepare their current staff to receive, trust, and support these incoming employees. 

That’s according to panelists who participated in a joint webinar by the Urban Manufacturing Alliance and What’s Next Washington titled How Manufacturers Can Train, Hire, and Retain Formerly Incarcerated Talent (FITTM). 

Many panelists passed through the criminal justice system themselves, giving them firsthand knowledge of how challenging it can be to return to work in a society that is structurally set up to punish you long after you’ve come home. Their diverse professional and life experiences make them subject matter experts on this issue. 

Today, over 70 million people in the United States are living with a conviction history. By 2030, this population will climb to 100 million. Pre-COVID, the unemployment rate of this population was 27 percent—more than six times the country’s overall unemployment rate. With an estimated 2.4 million manufacturing jobs going unfilled by 2028, and unemployment disproportionately affecting returning citizens, now is a vital time to create a roadmap to engage this labor pool.

Our panelists included:

• Susan Mason, the co-founder and executive director of What’s Next Washington (WNW), who talked about her work helping employers through WNW’s  Partnering for an Inclusive Workforce Project, which is the “how” of recruiting, hiring, and retaining FIT.
• Christopher Poulos, executive director of the Washington Statewide Reentry Council, discussed policy barriers that will need to be addressed by the manufacturing sector..
• Libby Mattern, the production director at Malia Mills and founder of Course of Trade, shared her experience building confidence through industrial sewing training and job placement for New Yorkers in partnership with the Women’s Prison Association. 
• Stephen Tucker, President and CEO of Northland Workforce Training Center, mentioned the highlight of his week was connecting a previously incarcerated trainee with a $40,000-per-year career-path manufacturing job. 
• Paul Tackes, the branding specialist at the Granville Business Improvement District, told us about the importance of contextualized background checks and his experience getting a manufacturing job after being incarcerated.

The broader themes of the webinar included:

Employers should do their due diligence to get ready to employ from this population.

Susan Mason prepares companies to hire people with conviction histories. Her organization wrote the “Get FIT” Guide hiring manual that employers can use to properly vet someone with a conviction history – especially someone who has been to prison. “We work with employers to get over not only their own biases and fears, but to help them maintain safe and productive workplaces,” Mason said. 

One thing she pointed out was how it’s not just about creating a good work environment for these employees. Employers also have to understand that who they contract with may impact their ability to hire returning citizens. “If these manufacturing companies have [Department of Defense] contracts, if they have contracts with healthcare authorities or schools or others—guess what? [People with criminal histories] are not working there,” said Mason, who herself experienced challenges finding employment for decades after she was released from prison.

Companies should reconsider background checks

Panelists mentioned how they approach the background check process knowing that it will inevitably return a criminal past for someone with a conviction history. They agreed that experience with the criminal justice system must be reviewed in light of who they are as people. Tackes gave the example of a manufacturer in the Granville Business Improvement District that has adopted this approach. “We don’t really look at someone for what they did before they came in,” the company told Tackes. “We look at them from what they do within these four walls and within this building.” 

Tucker agreed. “We think the background checks will be more meaningful if they are done in consideration of what the person is actually doing now and their education and what they bring to the table,” he said. It’s also about “being open minded to giving someone a fair opportunity, and providing the type of culture where if they are hired, they can be able to advance in their career [and] grow with that company.”

Poulos reiterated why it’s important to bring a holistic mindset to the background check process. “There’s a very good chance that [employers are] actually going to get a dedicated, hard working employee who is grateful and committed, especially if they’re treated well.”

Training that builds confidence

It was no secret to panelists that employers bring their own biases to the table as they consider hiring returning citizens. Mattern said one of the things she’s also seen among the returning citizens she trains is a bias against one’s self, which she tries to chip away at through the training process. 

“The people that I’m working with who have been impacted by incarceration have been made to feel like they should be invisible, or like they should not be advocating for themselves,” Mattern said. 

Her organization trains people one-on-one in hard job skills and soft skills, which gives them the ability to navigate the different challenges that can arise from trying to maintain a job. But she also makes sure that they see themselves as vital participants in a team.

“One of the things that I’m really focused on is ensuring that people feel like they’re really team building, because I think that’s critical,” she said. 

Going beyond “Ban the Box”

The “Ban the Box” campaign has raised awareness about the economic discrimination workers face if they have to declare their conviction history on a job application. Panelists discussed the pros and cons of the campaign, and said its shortcomings only emphasize the need for government and companies to do more. 

Mason said she didn’t believe “Ban the Box” on its own was an effective strategy to raise the employment rate among returning citizens. She said an interested applicant could spend weeks going through the application process only to see the job fall through once the employer runs a background check and sees their criminal history. “If I know upfront that you are not going to hire me, then that’s easier for me and for you,” Mason said. 

Tucker added that removing the conviction history part of an application “really gives the applicant and the employer an opportunity to connect so that they could have an adequate assessment of the skill set and if this person is a good fit,” he said. 

Poulos mentioned that in Washington legislators are working on a bill that would require holistic hiring reviews that go beyond “Ban the Box”. The bill would “prevent across the board prohibitions based on certain convictions and would require an individual analysis,” said Poulos, who mentioned that the legislation has gained bipartisan support.