Social enterprises in
Shropshire could potentially benefit from an £87m cash boost by working in
partnership with the construction sector.
That was the
message from a conference titled Social Value in Construction, which also
included a series of masterclasses and meet the buyer sessions involving Kier,
Balfour Beatty, Mears Group and Speller Metcalfe.
More
than 150 delegates attended the event, and heard from Melanie Mills, chief
executive of Social Enterprise West Midlands CIC, who said contractors and
commissioners are missing out on a strong supply chain in the social sector.
And
she said that unlocking a proportion of the construction industry’s spending
and focusing it on social enterprises could have a huge impact on the sector,
including in the local area.
“Construction
in the West Midlands alone is worth an estimated £8.7bn so if we can leverage
just one per cent of spend it could be worth up to £87 million for social
enterprises,” Ms Mills said.
“I
believe it should just be the start for this industry; it is already an early
adopter and this can further help as they look to embrace more ethically based
businesses by giving organisations outside of its mainstream supply base the
chance to tender for work.”
She
added: “We have a significant number of social enterprises in Shropshire
offering trade skills that can help fill the recognised construction skills
gap, but it doesn’t need to end there.
“The
offer could include wellbeing specialists, catering firms, landscaping or even
providing the marketing collateral for major projects.
“There
is a definite commitment from the wider construction sector to be involved in
developing sustainable legacies in the communities in which they operate as
part of their corporate social responsibility delivery.”
The
Social Value in Construction event was the first of its type held in the UK and
attracted a number of keynote speakers including Alan Smith (Kier Group), Tom
MacDonald (West Midlands Construction UTC) and Professor Ian Oakes, who
combines his role as deputy vice chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton
with being a board member of the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership.
- Shropshire Star
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