Ex-offenders and enterprise

Offenders are by their nature potentially greater risk-takers than the general population, as are entrepreneurs. For this and reasons such as difficulty in finding employment, many offenders are likely to work in their own businesses. The provision of training in running a small business or self-employment can improve the chances of success. Offenders, as a group of people with special needs, may benefit from the provision of this type of training. This paper describes the results of a pilot study which examined the potential of offenders for running small businesses and the current provision of small business training in prisons and probation services in the UK.