Advance 2 Go — From Prison Gate to Sustained Employment

Leeds, West Yorkshire · Community Interest Company

We deliver end-to-end rehabilitation and employment support for ex-offenders across West Yorkshire — from prison gate to sustained employment. Built on lived experience, legal expertise and a mission to reduce reoffending for good.

Commissioners & Funders For Employers For Job Seekers

Why Employment Matters

£22.7bn

annual cost of reoffending to the UK economy — employment is the single biggest factor in reducing it (MoJ, 2025)

38%

of prison leavers now in work within 6 months — driven by specialist employer engagement and employment support (MoJ, 2025)

33%

reduction in reoffending directly linked to sustained employment at 26 weeks (Ministry of Justice evidence base)

"Employment is the single most significant factor in reducing reoffending. Advance 2 Go delivers the full journey — from identification to sustained employment."

Our Model

The Full Pipeline — Prison Gate to Sustained Employment

We do not just find jobs. We deliver the complete rehabilitation and employment journey — identifying candidates in custody, preparing them for employment, placing them with committed employers and supporting them to stay in work. This is the model that commissioners fund and the model that reduces reoffending.

Identify

Prison outreach and candidate identification — working with prisons, probation and through-the-gate services to find people who are motivated and ready.

Prepare

CV support, disclosure coaching under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, interview preparation and job readiness assessment — built on legal expertise and lived experience.

Place

Matching job-ready candidates with committed employers across construction, hospitality, logistics, retail and facilities management across West Yorkshire.

Sustain

Post-placement mentoring and support at 13 and 26 weeks — the points at which reoffending risk is highest and employer and candidate support matters most.

Our Founder

Michael Giles

LLB (Hons) · Founder & Director

In Monopoly, the most feared card is Go To Jail. The most coveted instruction is Advance to Go. That contrast is the entire philosophy behind this business.

"I was arrested in 2008 and served eight years. During that time I earned a law degree. I founded Advance 2 Go because I know what it takes to rebuild a life — and I know exactly what it means when someone gives you a genuine chance to do it."

Michael's lived experience of the criminal justice system — as a prisoner, as a law student, as someone who has genuinely rebuilt — gives Advance 2 Go a credibility and depth of knowledge that no mainstream recruiter or service provider can replicate. This is not a theoretical exercise. It is a personal mission backed by legal expertise.

About Advance 2 Go Commissioner Information

Why Commissioners Fund Us

Lived experience leadership — the founder has direct personal experience of the criminal justice journey from arrest through to reintegration. This is a scored criterion in most MoJ and DWP social value frameworks.

Legal expertise — an LLB (Hons) with specialist knowledge of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, criminal records disclosure law and DBS frameworks. No mainstream provider offers this alongside frontline delivery.

Local rootedness — a Leeds-based CIC committed to West Yorkshire, with genuine community embeddedness that national prime contractors cannot claim and cannot replicate.

Full governance suite — registered CIC with safeguarding policy, data protection policy, equal opportunities policy, Theory of Change and risk register. Ready for due diligence on day one.

Commercial sustainability — dual revenue model combining commercial placement fees and public sector contract income ensures long-term financial resilience independent of grant funding alone.

Ban the Box signatory — committed to fair recruitment practices and the removal of the conviction disclosure box from initial job applications.

Who We Work With

Three audiences. One mission.

Advance 2 Go works simultaneously with the three groups that make employment-based rehabilitation succeed — commissioners who fund and contract services, employers who create the opportunities, and job seekers who take them.

Commissioners & Funders

Commission or fund the full rehabilitation and employment pipeline

We deliver end-to-end employment support for people in prison and on probation — through the gate, into work and sustained at 13 and 26 weeks. Theory of Change, governance pack and evidence base all available.

Commissioner information →

Employers

Hire motivated, vetted candidates with full legal and disclosure support

We supply work-ready candidates, handle all disclosure compliance and provide social value documentation for your ESG and supply chain reporting. No upfront cost. Placement fees below market rate.

Employer information →

Job Seekers

Find meaningful work with a conviction — free support every step of the way

Free CV support, disclosure coaching, interview preparation and direct introductions to committed employers. We know where you have been. We know you can get to where you want to go.

Job seeker information →