Social enterprise to offer employment opportunities to Scottish veterans
Melanie May | 21 November 2017 | News
A factory offering job opportunities specifically for Scottish veterans is to open next June.
The largest employment development specifically for Scottish veterans in decades, Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company (SBMC) will open at veterans’ charity Erskine’s headquarters and is headed by Royal British Legion Industries.
The factory will produce rail and road signs, recycle wooden products, and provide print & mail and fulfilment services, and will offer opportunities ranging from short to long-term, part-time and full-time roles, all tailored to the specific needs of each veteran. As a not-for profit enterprise, it will also immediately reinvest 100% of its surplus back into the company.
SBMC is projected to help more than 40 of the country’s ex-servicemen and women every year through direct, flexible employment, while also offering vital tailored wrap-around welfare support and accommodation in collaboration with Erskine.
The development is a direct response to a 2015 study into the employment support needs of Scottish veterans, which found that ex-service personnel are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as civilians across the country.
Erskine, which is currently extending the services it provides, is planning to support the veterans employed by SBMC by providing access to community social facilities and accommodation adjacent to the factory on its estate at Bishopton.
Steve Sherry CMG OBE, chief executive of Royal British Legion Industries, said:
“We know from extensive stakeholder engagement that there is an immense hunger within the military communities of Glasgow and the surrounding areas for skill-based employability initiatives for veterans.”
“SBMC will be based on a tried and tested, commercially competitive but also socially proactive business model, ensuring a positive and rewarding environment for the Scottish veterans who will work in the factory.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.