HM Prison Service has questionable merit as a rehabilitation system. Each year it releases around 70,000 offenders, and some 268,000 are on probation. But their prospects are bleak. Just 17% find a job within a year of release, and 59% reoffend, which costs society £15bn a year, according to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures. Meanwhile, skills shortages are responsible for 35% of vacancies in construction - higher than in any other sector - so should the industry consider tapping into this employment pool? That is what some companies are doing, including Lendlease, Barhale and North Midland Construction.
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