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St. Louis Region

Saint Louis University's Transformative Workforce Academy works closely with partners and resources in the St. Louis area to helps employers and job seekers connect.

For Job Seekers

At TWA, we know it’s hard to find a job when you have a criminal record. The goal of our program is to make it a little bit easier by:

  • Meeting with you to prepare a resume and work on interview skills
  • Finding out about your skills, experience, and interests so we can match you with the right second chance employer
  • Getting you connected to vetted, second chance employers who will not rule you out because of your criminal record
  • During our semi-annual job fairs, pairing you with a job coach so you can prepare your two-minute video pitch and be matched with employers who want to take next steps

To access the Transformative Workforce Academy's services, email twa@slu.edu.

For Employers

We recruit employers from a wide variety of industries and can provide training, creative troubleshooting, and trauma-informed approaches that benefit all employees

Now more than ever, employers across the country are reexamining their hiring policies to engage justice-involved applicants. These companies are seeing firsthand what research has consistently shown: that second chance employment not only benefits justice-involved individuals and their families, but also contributes to the success of businesses and communities. With the potential to save you $3,146 per hire* and become some of your hardest working and most loyal employees, hiring justice-involved talent has never been a smarter business move.

TWA works with employers to improve public safety and reduce recidivism together.

  • We meet virtually or in person to hear about your company, your talent needs, and your hiring process.
  • We connect you with SLU TWA candidates for your consideration.
  • We provide support for you and SLU TWA jobseekers throughout the hiring process and beyond.
Year-round placements

We receive referrals throughout the year from community partners to work with job seekers to create resumes, practice discussing their backgrounds during an interview, and connect with our broad network of employers

Employer training

TWA is here to support employers looking to take the next step on their second chance employment journey. Whether you want to learn more about why companies hire justice-involved talent, how companies go about this hiring process, or what kinds of ongoing support companies provide, the Just Talent Playbook is your guide to learning more about second chance employment.

Download the Just Talent Playbook

Why hire?
  • Research indicates that justice-involved employees are motivated, skilled, hardworking, and loyal, saving employers money in reduced turnover costs
  • The overwhelming majority of HR professionals and managers find their justice-involved employees’ quality of work just as high or higher than that of their other employees
  • Blanket criminal record exclusions put companies at greater legal risk than thoughtfully and strategically hiring qualified candidates with criminal records
  • While the financial risk of hiring justice-involved jobseekers is low, incentives such as the Federal Bonding Program and Work Opportunity Tax Credit more than offset any risk accrued by employers
  • Not only do individual companies benefit from second-chance employment, but hiring justice-involved individuals is also correlated with reduced recidivism, increased public safety, and economic growth
How to hire?
  • There are many sources of justice-involved talent in Missouri, including prison reentry programs and Department of Corrections Vocational Tech programs. TWA’s Second Chance Job Portal is a tool that can help employers connect to jobseekers from these programs.
  • Providing justice-involved candidates the opportunity to put their offense in context is crucial to getting the information you need to determine whether they will succeed on the job.
  • It is important to ensure your company works with an accredited and thorough CRA to avoid making decisions based on inaccurate information, which could put your company and potential employees at risk.
  • There are many factors to consider when making the final decision about whether to hire a justice-involved candidate, including but not limited to their offense’s relevance to the job, time since their offense, seriousness of the offense in context, ownership of the offense, and growth trajectory since the offense.
Ongoing support
  • Providing justice-involved employees with a company point of contact helps them feel supported and provides a mechanism for addressing challenges
  • Mentorship programs and Buddy systems help both justice-involved and non-justice-involved employees feel welcome and learn faster
  • Employers should be transparent and provide training regarding second chance hiring practices while keeping individual employees’ justice-involvement confidential