One in four adults of working age has a criminal conviction. The vast majority want to work and reintegrate, but finding employment after a conviction is disproportionately hard.
The barriers are well documented: uncertainty about what to disclose and when, and hiring processes that were never designed with this group in mind. The result is that people who are ready and willing to contribute get screened out before they get a chance.
NT5: Creating employment opportunities for people with convictions
Many employers want to help this cohort into stable work, and thousands have already made formal commitments to do so through the Social Value TOM System™.
Within the TOM System, employing someone with a conviction is measured as NT5. Each NT5 outcome carries a Social Value proxy value of £55,922 per person, per year, reflecting:
- Earnings
- Quality of life
- Reduced costs to public services
Of course, employers benefit too. Organisations that deliver on the commitment gain access to a wide and underutilised talent pool, and those that have already done so report strong retention figures. But the practical questions – how to vet, how to disclose, how to build internal confidence – are where delivery tends to stall.
To close this gap, Offploy has become a Knowledge Partner to SVP, specialising in the delivery of NT5.
Meet Offploy, SVP’s new Knowledge Partner
Offploy is a specialist social enterprise founded by Jacob Hill in 2016, six weeks after his own release from prison.
Since then, the organisation has helped more than 5,000 people with convictions into employment, working with major employers across the UK. 70% of Offploy's staff have lived experience of the justice system, meaning their advice reflects genuine understanding of the challenges people with convictions face.
Offploy’s own data shows reoffending falls significantly among the people they support: 55 fewer offences for every hundred they support.
What does this Knowledge Partnership give employers?
The TOM System, created by SVP, tracks Social Value commitments in both contracts and corporate activity, including employment of people with convictions.
This partnership gives organisations already using the TOM System a specialist to turn to when running into delivery challenges, and it gives those working with Offploy the means to measure and report their commitments and delivery.
Ten years ago I was in prison. When I was released, I was an NT5 outcome: a number on a spreadsheet, someone with a criminal conviction. My life changed when a person saw past the conviction and recognised the individual. That is where real impact happens, and this partnership exists to multiply it. Offploy's decade of practice with employers like Serco, Amazon and Transport for Wales, multiplied by Social Value Portal's reach and the standard the sector already trusts. Together we will help organisations go from numbers on a contract to lives meaningfully changed.
Jacob Hill, Founder and Managing Director, Offploy CIC
What's coming
The Knowledge Partnership has a defined programme of outputs for 2026:
- A free practical guide: Achieving Your NT5 Outcomes and Achieving Them Well, written by Offploy and published by SVP. Covering vetting, disclosure, risk, and how to build the internal buy-in that makes this commitment stick. Publishing late summer 2026.
- Virtual working group: Tuesday 7 July 2026. A free session for Social Value leaders to uncover what's working, what's getting in the way, and what good practice looks like. Ed Lang, SVP's Head of Partnerships, will join alongside senior Social Value leads from across the sector.
- SVP member webinar: September 2026. A dedicated session for TOM System members on NT5 delivery.
- Social Value Conference 2026: 2-3 December 2026, Liverpool. SVP's annual conference, where Offploy will deliver insights and guidance to attendees.
Before the guide is published, the working group session on 7 July will bring organisations together to help shape it.
Want to get involved? Sign up here
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