Social enterprise
The Brotherhood offers an intermediate labour market, or supported job, model to help people get the training, skills and real job experience they need to be ready for work.
We started our own social enterprises to employ and train job seekers who display a keenness for work but may require some extra support to stay in employment. These enterprises have grown into viable businesses offering professional services at competitive rates.
From 2005 to 2010, the Brotherhood's Community Enterprise Development Initiative also supported community groups starting an enterprise with a social purpose. CEDI's work continues at Social Traders, a national agency that has been established to become the main support body for social enterprise activity and policy.
The Brotherhood runs a variety of businesses with a social purpose, or social enterprises. Some of these are principally established to provide job seekers with training, support and a job, while others are mainly set up to generate income to run our unfunded activities.