The relatively small nature of rural social enterprises (along with strong community values and creating local opportunities) make them an ideal place to involve younger generations as they create a supportive environment for personal development. This is turn, provides an organisation based in areas with an ageing population (as is the case with many rural communities) with a different perspective than one they may be used to.

Involving young people in Social Enterprise can ensure that the activity and focus remains fresh and varied, while also providing scope for succession planning and allowing the young person to gain new skills and confidence in their abilities.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) “Supporting youth-led social enterprises has the double benefit of providing youth with jobs while allowing them to have an impact on society. Policy makers in many countries and regions have recognised the potential of social enterprises to drive positive social outcomes and are now developing new policies, legislation and strategies to support social enterprise development.

To capitalise on the transformative power of youth-led social enterprises, it will be important for policy makers to consider the specific needs and potential of young entrepreneurs when designing these policies so that strategies do not just create jobs but also enable youth to be actors of the future.”

How do we Engage Young People in Social Enterprise?

Engagement with younger generation is an important aspect to consider with any long-term business plan, but with young people’s relative lack of awareness surrounding social enterprise and the many pre-existing time commitments they face, it can be difficult to involve them. It is vital to engage young people in a way which is meaningful. This may require more long-term engagement, an approached that is tailored to their other commitments and incentives to get involved e.g. training opportunities, stimulating work etc.

Some of the key objectives when working with younger people in a rural community-led context include:

• To increase young people’s knowledge and understanding of rural social enterprise
• To provide the opportunity for young people to engage with organisations in their community to develop their skills
• To provide the opportunity to complete high quality and valuable work experience
• To increase the confidence of young people suffering with anxiety and depression.
• To highlight the variety of employability opportunities in Scotland through social enterprises

The report below provides an overview of the Social Enterprise Work Experience (SEWE) Programme that took place in 2021, to engage young people living in rural areas with social enterprise.

Employability Programmes

Inspiralba have a proven track record in development, management and delivery of employment and training opportunities. Our collaborative model enables partners from across the Third Sector to create a nurturing environment which encourages individuals with a range of barriers to work to access opportunities and progress to achieve their potential.

Since 2009, this work has included the following schemes; Future Jobs Fund, Wider Role, People and Communities, Investing in Communities and Kickstart. Through our employability work, people of all ages and backgrounds are able to gain skills, qualifications and experience while working with community-based organisations.  This provides a two way benefit; providing opportunities for individuals whilst adding capacity for the delivery of community benefits. Two employability schemes in particular have provided support to young people specifically – Spark Your Purpose and the Kickstart Scheme. (see more below.)

Involving Young People Case Studies