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Do you believe in Redemption?

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Do you believe in Redemption? I never had glaring reason to give the concept much thought until I received a call in the fall of 2011 from Jim Treliving, Owner and CEO of Boston Pizza and renowned for Dragon’s Den. During that call Jim shared that he was an advisor on Kevin O’Leary’s latest TV project – a reality show called “REDEMPTION Inc.” which currently airs on Mondays at 9:00 p.m. on the CBC. He asked if we (PSG) also wanted to be advisors and even perhaps get involved on a different level.

A bit of insight first. The concept of this new reality show is best described as Dragon’s Den meets The Apprentice. Each week The Participants are put through a series of business challenges with the goal of determining a clear winner who is bright, resourceful and entrepreneurial-minded and ultimately worthy of Kevin O’Leary giving $100K of his own money to start a business venture. The glaring difference is that the Participants are ex-convicts who have all served time behind bars. Although the Participants have paid their dues for the crimes committed, all find it difficult to move their lives forward; particularly from a job perspective Corporate Canada is not yet willing to open their doors to give someone with a criminal record a chance – regardless of education, skill-set and attitude.

Jim identified that aside from the winner, there was another Participant who really stood out. Jim said that everyone involved with Redemption Inc, including Kevin and all of the Producers really felt that this Participant was not only an exceptional person, they also believed that he would prove to be an outstanding employee. Jim stated “ I used to put people like him behind bars, but this one is really worth looking at!” Then came the loaded question: Could we (PSG) help this person find a job?

Stay tuned for the outcome of this unique challenge, which will be revealed in a documentary titled “Redemption Revisited”, currently being produced to air on March 5th. Lisa and I are honoured to be involved; from helping with some of the creative concept of the documentary and today (January 26th) taking part in the taping along with Kevin O’Leary and “friends” at the CBC Studios.

By Lorrie Clark, Partner, Permanent Search Group/PSG

26 January, 2012 | Posted in Articles | 1 Comment