Concordance Academy of Leadership is launching an employment agency aimed at connecting St. Louis-area employers with ex-offenders ready for a new start.
The St. Louis Regional Chamber will host a kick-off with an Employer Symposium, “Finding Talent in a Challenging Economy,” 7:30-9:30 a.m. Thursday, November 9 at its offices, located at One Metropolitan Square, Suite 1300.
Attendees can learn more about Concordance Academy’s Employment Agency, as well as hear from a panel of St. Louis human resources executives, including leaders from Ameren, Nestle Purina, St. Louis Staffing, SAK Construction and Pi Pizzeria.
The agency will match qualified program participants (who have completed the pre-release and intensive post-release program at Concordance) with area employers. The agency will also: reduce employee recruitment and screening costs by recruiting and screening workers with essential workplace skills; absorb the risks associated with providing workers compensation, general liability and fidelity bonds; conduct pre-employment and ongoing drug testing; and provide training to supervisors to help them better understand the barriers faced by the formerly incarcerated.
“We’ve now hired four Concordance participants at three different locations, and we couldn’t be happier with them,” said Chris Sommers, Pi Pizzeria co-owner. “Our first Concordance hire was promoted within two months of joining Pi because of his tenacious work ethic. He’s on his way to becoming a supervisor. Our second hire was also promoted, and the two most recent ones are off to a flying start.”
Local research suggests that while there is an aversion to hiring the formerly incarcerated, resistance is declining. The 2015 State of St. Louis Workforce research showed that over one-quarter (26 percent) of area employers indicated that they would not consider a former felon for any reason, while 13 percent indicated that that they would consider the applicant for positions if they met the qualifications. The remaining respondents (61 percent) indicated that hiring considerations are dependent on the nature of the felony, time since the offense, and the type of job being sought.
Nationwide, nearly 80 percent of formerly incarcerated individuals return to prison within five years, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
“If they cannot find a job, many return to the very thing that got them into prison, whether it is drugs or crime,” said Roderick Nunn, executive vice president, Head of Education and Employment at Concordance. “When the business community asks, ‘What can we do to help reduce crime in St. Louis?’, this is exactly what they can do – utilize the Concordance Employment Agency and support its success.”
The November 9 event will also feature keynote speaker David Ulrich, who will describe best practices in sourcing talent and the value in employing non-traditional talent in today’s economy.
To register for the November 9 event, “Finding Talent in a Challenging Economy” visit www.stlregionalchamber.org/events. For more information on the Concordance Employment Agency, visit https://concordanceacademy.org/employersymposium/ or contact Roderick Nunn at rnunn@concordanceacademy.com or 314-396-6001.
