Good for community, and good for business: Kier and Social Enterprise Academy partner to create meaningful community impact
Social Enterprise Academy has launched a new partnership with Kier, the national contractor behind projects such as the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank, Paisley Museum, Callander Primary School and the ongoing HMP Glasgow development.
The partnership combines Kier’s projects, people and industry knowledge with the Academy’s specialist social enterprise learning. Together, they will help young people and adults build the skills, confidence and enterprises that last long after a construction project is complete.
Community impact as a tender differentiator
Public sector clients increasingly expect major capital projects to deliver social value alongside the building itself. For Kier, they were looking for a delivery partner who already had the expertise and community connections, rather than trying to do everything themselves.
Tender targets for jobs and apprenticeships remain important. But Kier wanted its offer to answer a harder question: what happens next for the people involved?
Jill Love, Submissions Manager at Kier, said: “Supporting Social Enterprise opens up more than one route into employment or self-employment. It helps build skills, confidence and wealth within the local community, and the Social Enterprise Academy gives people the confidence and tools to support themselves.”
The offer started with an honest look at strengths and gaps. Kier could bring project opportunities, people, industry knowledge and a physical community hub. The Academy brought specialist learning, established programmes for different age groups, independent facilitation and a route to enterprise start-up and trading.
What the partnership will deliver
The co-designed offer creates a pathway from the classroom to community-led business. Kier will be partnered with local Secondary Schools, and their employees will become mentors to young people as they develop trading social enterprises.
Both young people and Kier mentors will have access to Social Enterprise skills development, and the programme culminates in a Dragon’s Den Showcase where the Young People will pitch their enterprises to Kier Dragons to seek funding.
Together, these create a route for community-led businesses to develop through a Social Enterprise Community Hub during the project and beyond it.
Kelly Harkness, Social Value Manager for Kier North & Scotland, said: “At Kier, we are committed to leaving a positive and lasting legacy in the communities where we work, and our partnership with Social Enterprise Academy is a fantastic opportunity to strengthen that commitment across Scotland. By supporting programmes that empower young people to develop innovative solutions to local challenges, we can help create meaningful social value that extends far beyond the lifespan of our projects.”
Kirsty Lynch, Head of Young People Learning UK at Social Enterprise Academy, said: “This partnership is about creating as much value as possible for everyone involved. Our flagship Social Enterprise Schools programmes create immense value for young people, who develop skills and confidence for life, but also for the mentors and for our partners too. Employees get an opportunity to meaningfully share their skills, and companies gain insights from young people around future employment, skills development and innovation. The value ripples far beyond the life of the programme, for everyone involved.”
For Jill, the biggest lesson is that partnership matters more than competition: “Community impact is not a competitive sport. The best outcomes come when organisations share ideas, contacts, expertise and resources in pursuit of the same goal. The goal is much bigger than one bid. It is to leave a community in a better place than we found it.”
For over 20 years, the Social Enterprise Academy has helped people and organisations build social enterprises that solve real local issues, turning corporate partnerships into community wealth.
Working in strategic partnership with the Scottish Government, The Academy delivers social enterprise learning and development for adults and young people across Scotland.
Since launching in 2007, we have supported more than 77,000 young people in the UK and globally.
About Kier
Kier is a national contractor delivering major public sector projects across Scotland, including education, health, justice and community buildings. As part of its social value commitments, Kier provides funding, resources and employee support to community initiatives in the places where it works.