Entrepreneurs Unlocked CIC is a Social Enterprise which helps individuals develop their skills to become their own boss and lead crime-free lives.

For many people whose career prospects may be limited due to their criminal record entrepreneurship and self-employment could be the best pathways to a better life.

Empowering People To Change Their Future

We run several programmes in custody and in the community that enable people to understand their talents and develop their skills. Individuals explore their ideas to see if self-employment is for them before working through the next steps. Everything is covered from how to develop their business idea and building a business plan to marketing and paying tax.

With over 700,000 people registered as self-employed in the construction sector, there are many opportunities to have a career in this sector. Our Smart Subcontractor programme helps people to see how they can make a start and access the range of opportunities on offer.

Supporting Our Communities

Support is continued in the community to prison leavers who have accessed our programmes and we work closely with their probation teams. We can also support people that have received a non-custodial sentence.

We also recognise that military veterans have a number of transferable skills, and for those considering setting up their own business, we have developed the Defender to Entrepreneur Programme.

Purposeful Activity To Support Rehabilitation

Entrepreneurs Unlocked CIC work closely with prison and probation partners and enhance purposeful activity by providing a variety of delivery methods including in-cell, distance learning, virtual and face to face workshops.

Prisons can broaden their learning and skills provision in a cost-effective and reportable way by working with us. All activity is fully reportable so you can monitor performance and trends to proactively develop the prison curriculum. You can also prepare for Ofsted inspections by providing evidence of successful outcomes with these programmes.

Our programmes seek to tackle unemployment and high re-offending rates by delivering workshops designed to tackle softer outcomes such as low self-confidence and low self-esteem, which can be barriers to setting up as self-employed. We will help develop coping strategies, develop resilience and support each person to recognise, appreciate and prepare for the extent of their challenges when leaving prison.

Contributing To Society

Many people with criminal histories want to become positive contributors to society and entrepreneurship skills and mindsets can help them.

With almost 2 in 3 adults with custodial sentences of less than one year re-offending within 12 months of release the total cost to the public purse is in excess of £18billion a year. Our aim is to help reduce this cost and help people become tax paying members of society and future employers too!

With almost 5 million people in the UK classed as self-employed, which is 15% of the workforce, it makes economic sense for people to explore this pathway.

With Small and Medium Enterprises accounting for 60% of the employment and 50% of the GDP for the private sector, surely enabling someone to add to the growth of the economy is a good thing.

Just think..

Who would you rather live next door to? Someone who is at risk of re-offending, creating more victim of crime and costing the economy or an entrepreneur and business owner, supporting themselves and contributing to the much needed growth of the economy.

Experience

Its founder has over 12 years’ experience in developing and delivering business start up programmes, enterprise skills and leadership and management programmes. This is underpinned by 20 years private sector experience in manufacturing and business management.

Insights

By engaging with and listening to the needs of people in custody and in the community, the organisation has learnt from their experiences, and help it to inform and enhance its programmes on offer.

Commitment

Developing rapport and a trusted relationship are vital elements to enable an individual to progress. The support does not stop at the prison gate of the end of a programme.

Accredited

As an Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IOEE) Academy, you can be assured that our programmes and support on offer is of the highest quality.