Change is brewing for ex-prisoners out job hunting

The Tap Social Movement's director Tess Taylor said it wants to "get people talking about second chance employment"

A social enterprise says employers are "missing out on a lot of really talented people" by not hiring ex-offenders.

The Tap Social Movement based in Oxford, which offers employment to prison leavers and those on day release, has been distributing its "criminally good beer" from its craft brewery since 2016, and now has five venues, including an artisan bakery Proof Social Bakehouse in Kennington.

It opened to external funding for the first time in August and set a new goal of £1m after quickly surpassing its initial target of £500,000.

Director Tess Taylor said it was "a great opportunity to spread the message further afield to get people talking about second chance employment".

Ministry of Justice statistics show that 31.1% of offenders were employed within six months of release from custody in 2024, with men having better employment rates than women.

Ms Taylor claimed her company's work had contributed to lowering reoffending rates.

The business is now beginning to expand further following funding through investments.

Ms Taylor said it was "probably one of the biggest times for us".

"We recently launched into retail, with 228 national grocery stores now stocking our beer," she said.

The Tap Social Movement has been distributing its "criminally good beer" range from its craft brewery since 2016

Isaac spent six months searching for work after he left prison before getting hired at Tap Social.

"I don't have any sort of resentment to the larger society for not doing it," he said.

"However, with companies like Tap Social becoming more commonplace, I think people are starting to realise that you can take a chance on people.

"If someone's been away (in prison) that doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to be an issue - everyone has their own story and there are different reasons."

Isaac is now looking forward to graduating from media studies and building his portfolio, along with learning more about the brewing process.

"[I will] try and become a journalist and keep writing, ...using my own lived experience as a vehicle to tell those stories".

Tess Taylor said her team would continue to "shout about inclusive employment"

Ms Taylor said she felt "devastated" for the employers who had turned Isaac away.

"He's just an absolutely brilliant team member, he has so much to offer and that's the same across the board with everybody that we work with.

"We're hoping to just demonstrate to more employers that there's a huge, massive population of really talented and hard-working individuals that just need a chance, and it's made a huge difference to our team."

She said her company would continue to "shout about inclusive employment" and work to get their message into Parliament.