Breaking barriers and building careers

About this event

Unlock hidden talent: hiring people with convictions strengthens teams. Learn from real stories of inclusive recruitment

Breaking barriers, building careers: Unlocking diverse talent

Hiring people with convictions is often overlooked—but it can unlock loyal, skilled, and motivated talent for your organisation.

Join us for an inspiring and practical session that shines a light on real-world experiences of inclusive recruitment.

Beckie Rowland-Turner, Fresh Start Manager at Greggs PLC, will share how the company has successfully created pathways for people with convictions—and the measurable benefits this has brought to the business.

She’ll be joined by experts from the New Futures Network (NFN), a specialist part of HM Prison and Probation Service dedicated to helping prisons and employers work together to give people leaving prison the chance to secure meaningful employment.

This interactive session will give you:

• The business case: why hiring those with convictions makes commercial sense.
• Recruitment insights: practical steps, considerations, and opportunities during the hiring process.
• Onboarding for success: how to support new hires to thrive from day one.
• Community impact: how employability programmes transform lives while strengthening employer brands.

Whether you’re an HR leader, recruiter, or talent partner, you’ll leave with fresh insights, proven approaches, and the confidence to tap into a powerful and underutilised talent pool.

About the speakers

Beckie Rowland-Turner, Fresh Start Manager at Greggs Plc

Beckie Rowland -Turner is the Fresh Start Manager at Greggs PLC. She has been with the organization for more than 12 years and specializes in the recruitment of people who face barriers in gaining employment. Beckie is the leader responsible for the successful launch and continuing momentum of the Greggs award winning employability programme “Fresh Start”.

• Karan Tattersfield, Chief People Officer, Grey
• Caroline Atkinson, Prison Employment Lead, New Futures Network
• Sally Eley, Head of CIPD Trust

Please note:

1. Webinar joining instructions will be sent to you again one day before the event, with a further reminder, 20 minutes prior to the event starting.
2. The session may be recorded and shared with people afterwards. Please bear this in mind and have your camera off if you do not wish for your image to be shared.
3. The chat function will be used for participants to engage with the webinar, so just be mindful of the login name you use and ensure you are happy for other people to see this.
4. For security reasons, it is requested that participants join the live session 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and with the same name as registered on Eventbrite as not doing so may cause a delay or non-admittance to the event.
5. This event may include an external speaker who has prepared their own presentation. Any views or opinions expressed by the speaker are their own and do not reflect those of the CIPD.
6. If you require any reasonable adjustments to enhance your experience, please get in contact with us by responding to this email and we will do our best to accommodate.