How to bridge the job gap for those with a criminal record

Welcome to Ask an Adviser, EBN's weekly column in which benefit brokers and advisers answer (anonymous) queries sent in by our readers. Looking for some expert advice? Please submit questions to askanadviser@arizent.com. This week, we asked Arran Stewart, co-founder and chief visionary officer of blockchain-powered recruitment platform Job.com, to weigh in on the following: How do we help bridge the job gap for those with a criminal record?

With more than 70 million people in the U.S. alone who have some sort of criminal record, we as a society really need to ask ourselves if that's actually a valid reason to bar these individuals from future employment, especially once they have served their sentence. 

How can we ever expect them to become productive members of society if they're unable to support themselves? It's also important to remember that with the regularly evolving laws surrounding cannabis, there are many people who have criminal records for offenses that are no longer even considered crimes.

The simple truth is that we're all human and we all make mistakes, but once we have paid our debt to society, we must be allowed to move forward and lead productive lives. Jobs offer important stability and routine along with the self esteem that comes from being able to provide for oneself and one's family. Denying individuals with past criminal records the opportunity to contribute to society is counterproductive. It's also arguably harmful, since we all miss out on the unique value each individual contributes. 

Read more: A criminal background shouldn't be a life sentence: How to mentor and upskill employees so they thrive at your business

In order to help bridge this gap and create more opportunities for individuals with past records, I believe that criminal offenses and records should be graded, since not all past crimes are the same. The lion's share of records, especially for minor drug-related offenses (and in particular those regarding cannabis, which is no longer even illegal in many states), should not be impediments to future employment. Many offenses have occurred years or even decades ago, so it's also important to take into consideration when the offense occurred as well as the steps that were taken for reform.  

Grading past offenses would allow all of the other positives about individuals to be taken into consideration, since there are many factors that make a good employee. The enormous portion of the U.S. labor force that's being overlooked due to blanket rules about past criminal offenses is causing companies to miss out on valuable talent their businesses need. 

Ideally, there would be a collective framework of socially accepted and agreed upon grading that the market would adhere to. This would allow for equal and fair implementation of the grading system while providing a second chance to individuals who undoubtedly deserve it. 

We as a society can and must do a better job of giving second chances to those who have served their time and learned their lessons. We owe it to them and ourselves collectively.