Soft FM services provider, SBFM, has joined forces with Working Chance, the UK’s only employment charity solely for women with convictions, to offer opportunities to women leaving the criminal justice system.
The partnership prioritises quality matches that benefit individual applicants and supports SBFM’s Evolve programme, which provides comprehensive support, training, mentorship and career opportunities in the facilities management industry.
Evolve addresses employment barriers by offering workshops, coaching and digital learning career support to various groups, including ex-offenders, the homeless, ex-services personnel, former sports professionals, the long-term unemployed, care leavers, neurodivergent people, and those with disabilities. SBFM collaborates with more than 40 Evolve Partners to expand career pathways beyond FM in multiple sectors.
Working Chance partners with 130 national employers and maintains connections with all 12 women’s prisons across the UK. The charity’s approach centres on providing hope and accessibility, allowing women to engage when they feel ready following conviction.
The application process has been streamlined to benefit applicants, especially those who require urgent support. This flexible and responsive approach enables Working Chance to contact SBFM about individuals who want to find work right away, ensuring rapid responses rather than lengthy waiting periods.
Details are managed through an online portal. Once candidates meet the established criteria, a systematic approach includes group induction and straightforward onboarding processes, effectively guaranteeing employment opportunities for those who complete these stages successfully. To date, two women have successfully been employed.
Joanne Anderson, Employment Advisor at Working Chance, said: ”We want all women who come to us to receive immediate, non-judgmental support. SBFM provides exactly that, treating all information sensitively and carefully. We prioritise empathy and support because the women we represent deserve an opportunity to move forward positively and not be denied the opportunity to work simply because of something that occurred in the past. SBFM’s straightforward employment process reduces the immediate stress of having to find a job and provides positive employment opportunities for them to thrive.”
Colin Shute, Founder of SBFM and chair of the Employment Advisory Board, said: “We always want to invest in our people, and the women supported by Working Chance have skills and untapped potential that we hope to harness through programmes like Evolve. We are proud to support Working Chance, providing a crucial lifeline to those who truly need it.”
Webinar: Taking a unified approach to adopting Al in FM
FMJ has partnered with global worktech leader, Eptura, to deliver a webinar on Thursday 26 June at 11am to discuss Eptura’s 2025 Workplace Index that suggests that over a third of employers are proactively looking to increase office attendance which could result in a rise in the use of AI and cross-platform data analytics to help manage FM operations.
The webinar will bring together experts from Eptura, along with FM thought leaders on the adoption of integrated solutions that unleash powerful data analytics capabilities, leading to increased productivity and reduced operational costs.
To register for the webinar please click here.
Can’t make it no problem… Simply sign up and after the webinar has been broadcast a link will be sent to you to watch the recording.
