2015 End of Year Message From Social Enterprise Scotland
Posted: 11 December 2015, in Blog
2015 has been the year for social enterprise in Scotland. The launch of the first ever census of social enterprises has demonstrated a thriving and growing business community. Social Enterprise in Scotland: Census 2015 has been a defining moment. It gives us renewed confidence, a clearer direction, a better indication of where to direct business support and makes our messages clearer when talking to the public, media and politicians.
The headline results show us that there are over 5,000 social enterprises in Scotland, employing over 112,000 people. 60% have a woman as their most senior employee, with 68% of social enterprises paying at least the authentic Living Wage (from the Living Wage Foundation).
2015 has been the year for moving forward with a vision and strategy for social enterprise for the next 10 years. Key support organisations working in social enterprise have come together in partnership to develop a brand new vision, working with the Census results, to focus minds and take us to the next stages.
As we look forward to 2016 we have a unique opportunity to raise our collective profile and influence the policies of the next Scottish Government. The Holyrood election will be an ideal opportunity for our social enterprises to make their voices heard. As we look back over the achievements of the past year it’s worth remembering that social enterprise is about creating a new type of economy and society that benefits us all. Social enterprises are not just about helping certain excluded groups in society, social enterprise is good for everyone.
Fraser Kelly, Chief Executive, Social Enterprise Scotland