Frozen goods retailer Iceland has appointed a director of rehabilitation who is looking to recruit ex-offenders to work in the supermarket’s stores and warehouses.
In the new position is Paul Cowley, an ex-offender himself, who spent six months in Risley Prison before later founding Caring for Ex-Offenders in 2005, a charity said to have helped over 2,000 men and women reintegrate back into society.
Among those noble pursuits, he also spent 17 years in the army between the prison sentence and setting up the charity.
Cowley announced his new role at Iceland in a tweet last week, while appealing for ex-offenders to fill posts.
He said: “If you are interested in ex-offenders, getting them back into employment, then get in touch,” adding: “Iceland are now starting employing ex-offenders in their 1000+ stores [and] warehouses around the UK.”
On top of that, Cowley is a Church of England priest, who in 2016 was awarded an MBE for services to ex-offenders.
In a follow-up tweet today, Iceland’s managing director Richard Walker said: “Paul is a legend. We’re massively excited to have him onboard, helping us to give people a second chance.”
Additionally, Cowley revealed he had spent two days interviewing men and women at HMP Styal and HMP Onley for potential roles in Iceland stores.
The news comes as Iceland’s micro loan scheme, aimed to support shoppers deal with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, has received around 50,000 applications.
