Case studies

A big hole in the government’s coffers can be plugged by backing small businesses which reduce the gigantic cost of reoffending, saving us all money. Trying to rebuild your life after leaving prison is tough. A stable life needs income, but 74% of ex-offenders are unemployed six months after being released and if you’re not earning a wage, how are you supposed to keep a roof over your head?  A Ministry of Justice (MOJ) report found that financial problems and unemployment are a major factor in people reoffending and 59% of unemployed ex-offenders will reoffend within one year of release from prison.  A government focused on growth needs more people working and contributing taxes; what it doesn’t need is a £18bn hole - the cost of reoffending - in the budget.  One growing business has a simple answer to this: get people ready and qualified for work before they leave and employ prison leavers where they can. Tap Social Movement is proving this model works.  How a beer company reduces reoffending  Appropriately, the idea of Tap Social Movement was first discussed over a few beers; the difference is they still thought it was a good idea in the morning. Tap’s three co-founders all had experience of working in the criminal justice system. Tess Taylor had been working to clear criminal records at Canada’s National Pardon Centre, Tess’s sister Amy was formerly a Policy Advisor at the MOJ, and fellow co-founder Paul Humpherson worked as a criminal barrister.   In 2016, Tess Taylor was visiting different breweries while working for an early pioneer of the independent craft beer movement that has changed the name on beer pumps nationwide. She thought the welcoming, non-judgmental culture of the scene might be the right environment for people to re-enter society. Meanwhile, Amy Taylor had connected with Mark Edwards, Governor at Spring Hill prison, through her work at the MOJ. She’d successfully pitched the idea of getting prisoners on-day release ready for life outside prison by offering them employment while they served the final part of their sentence.    After convincing a brewing expert to join them, pooling their savings, finding a cheap business unit, and buying secondhand equipment, Tap Social Movement was up and running. They took their first employee from Spring Hill Prison six weeks after opening and have never looked back. In nine years, the business has grown to four venues: three tap rooms across Oxford and Banbury along with Proof Social Bakehouse, a bakery and cafe established in their first brewery premises. Plans are also well underway for the launch of an ambitious new venue in early 2026.  Around a third of their staff are ex-offenders and over the years they have employed 60 people with experience of prison.   "From day one Tap Social treated me like family. Nobody asked what I’d done, and nobody judged me. All they wanted from me was that I did my best. And my best is what I did. They brought me out of my shell, showed me I had skills I didn’t know I had, and treated me as a human - like I wasn’t just a number to be locked behind a door or another body counted at roll call," said Terry, who worked at Proof Social Bakehouse after leaving prison.  In stark contrast to the grim statistics at the top of this article, none of their employees reoffended within one year of release, and just 6% reoffended after one year. The conclusion is simple: having a reason to get up every day and earn money means it is less likely someone will reoffend. Some of Tap’s employees move onto other work, but 89% of them are still in employment one year after prison.    The next stage of growth  This year will see further growth for the business. A recent fundraise on crowdfunding platform CrowdCube saw Tap Social raise more than £600,000, part of which will help fund a planned fifth venue, but also to promote their beers being available in 220 stores of a well-known national retailer this autumn.    “It's the first time we've had a listing of this size, so we’re really excited, but we need to make sure the rate of sale is good and strong. We need a proper marketing and PR budget to ensure the beer shifts on the shelves and that people are picking it up,” Tess Taylor said.   Small businesses like Tap Social Movement are the backbone of the British economy, with 99% of all UK businesses being SMEs. The growth of the social enterprise will mean more employment opportunities for ex-offenders, reducing the cost of reoffending, and helping save taxpayers money. For a government intent on breaking down barriers to opportunity and one focused on good jobs and productivity, Tap Social Movement provides a blueprint for achieving the change the Labour Party successfully campaigned on.  tapsocialmovement.com

Growing an economy needs entrepreneurs, and long-term growth also requires sustainable use of resources.  One growing business ticks both boxes. After arriving from Australia as a backpacker in 2002, Michael Amos probably wasn’t expecting to be leading a recycling business 23 years later that has supported 1,500 schools in 44 countries. Waste to Wonder Worldwide offers a B2B ethical office clearance service, transforming redundant office furniture into life-changing resources. On average, 97% of furniture and equipment they receive is redistributed to schools, charities and community projects in the UK and globally. Any items not fit for reuse are responsibly recycled. Apart from the obvious feelgood factor, another attraction for clients, which include HSBC, IBM and Honda, is detailed ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting based on the carbon saved and social impact it makes through its donations. Waste to Wonder report that, on average, their work has saved five million kilograms of CO2 being released into the atmosphere annually. In short, reusing furniture means less trees have to be cut down. “Not only does the Waste to Wonder solution help us to support charities and schools globally, but by donating waste furniture rather than sending it to landfill, we're significantly reducing our carbon emissions,” said Amy Baer, Global Executive Director ESG and Procurement at global commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE. “Our most recent report highlighting the benefits of the CBRE and W2W partnership demonstrated total savings of 1.3m kg of carbon across its projects.” A measure of Waste to Wonder’s growth is the success of their ‘School in a Box’ programme. Each ‘School in a Box’ is a 40-foot container packed with approximately £25,000 worth of redundant furniture cleared for companies who prioritise reuse rather than recycling. The first School in a Box was delivered to Morocco in 2003 and by 2010 the total had reached 100.  Fast forward to 2025 and 150 School in a Box shipments are now sent every year. Office furniture to the value of £45 million has now been donated and in 2024 Waste to Wonder reached a major milestone, donating its one millionth item. The company also supports many projects in the UK. It has provided kitchens for London’s Community Kitchen (LCK) which works to combat food poverty and reduce waste, including providing hot meals and food parcels for individuals and families facing crisis or hardship. LCK is guided by the belief that access to food is a basic human right. Waste to Wonder has also provided furniture for the University of East London’s Centre of Sustainability, which provides local people, businesses and UEL students and graduates access to affordable workspace alongside programmes to launch and grow businesses and develop the skills of East Londoners. “The natural thing was to talk to Waste to Wonder, and they just amazed us with the amount of quality second life furniture that they could bring into the space,” said Maxine Turney, Account Manager at Wagstaff Interiors Group, the commercial office company that fitted out the Centre of Sustainability. For Waste to Wonder’s Managing Director Michael Amos, the project offered the prospect of something more than furnishing a workspace. “This is an amalgamation of furniture that a large number of companies have decided they no longer need. For so many of our clients, potentially being able to come down and see the environmental impact of reuse is fantastic,” said Michael. There are many different kinds of growth. Waste to Wonder’s furniture is helping to grow a generation of entrepreneurs in East London. For their clients, seeing their office furniture reused shows them how their own businesses can create positive and social environmental impact, contributing to the communities outside of their offices. And Waste to Wonder’s ‘School in a Box’ programme is helping with the education of a new generation of citizens beyond the UK’s borders. To use the government’s own language, it’s the kind of growth that makes everyone better off. wastetowonder.com

One tea company has been ‘breaking down barriers to opportunity’ long before the phrase became part of an election-winning Labour manifesto.  The subject of refugees is part of the political hot potato that is immigration, the associated image for which is the flow of small boats that continue to make headlines. Of those coming across the English Channel in this way, 99% claim asylum once they arrive, according to Oxford University’s Migration Observatory. Small boat arrivals present a vivid image of desperate people taking risks to move from their home country to try and improve their lives, but refugees make up less than 1% of the UK population, according to UN figures.   Of those applying for asylum, 90% are accepted into the UK as someone forced to leave their country in order to escape war, violence and/or persecution for who they are or what they believe. The number of people claiming asylum in the UK rose by 17% last year. Refugees accepted by the UK need jobs to support themselves, and one growing business is showing how this might be done. NEMI teas is a London-based company providing employment to refugees, giving them local work experience and job readiness skills to enter the UK workforce and integrate into broader society. It supplies tea to large corporate offices, hotels, restaurants and cafes across the UK and Europe.  NEMI teas founder Pranav Chopra started the business in 2017 after speaking to refugees at a charity dinner and learning that a lack of UK work experience or references was holding them back from finding employment.  In response he started employing refugees selling chai on market stalls, a venture which eventually evolved to become NEMI teas.   Spotting a gap in the market presented by the shortage of hospitality workers following the pandemic, Pranav opened Trampoline Cafe in 2022 as an offshoot of NEMI, which hires refugees in London, providing them with opportunities to gain hospitality training and work experience, improve their English and better integrate into UK society. There are now two cafes, with the second open at the Royal College of Nursing. To date, Trampoline has successfully employed 28 refugees at the cafe with most trainees moving on to hospitality related jobs.   Ashkan has worked at Trampoline since 2022 after leaving Iran and it has enabled him to build a life here. A former accountant with a passion for coffee and Iran’s cafe culture, he had previously considered changing careers to work in hospitality.   “In a cafe you meet a lot of people and a lot of friends. My English was bad and now it is good. When I started to work in Trampoline, because I have a salary my life changed. I had more freedom to travel, for the cost of living, and I was happy,” Ashkan said. His ambition is to open his own small business – a cafe - in the future.   By strengthening collaborations with contract caterers and successful supplying to corporates across the UK, NEMI has experienced significant recent growth. Company turnover rose from £144,000 in 2020 to £1.74 million in 2024, with clients including PwC, Nationwide and UBS.   "Not only do NEMI provide us with high-quality teas, but we admire the work of Pranav and his team in supporting refugees with work experience, job readiness skills and integration into UK society. One of the values that guides PwC is 'make a difference', and one way we can do that is through our procurement of goods and services," said David Adair, Director of Community Engagement and The PwC Foundation UK.  Business success has enabled NEMI to double their team and significantly increase refugee employment opportunities at their Trampoline cafes. For a government with a mission to ‘break down barriers to opportunity’, NEMI and Trampoline offer a model for integrating new arrivals to the UK, enabling them to contribute to the government’s goal of economic growth.  nemiteas.com trampolinecafe.com

Not having access to a dentist can be life threatening. The growth of one Bedfordshire-based organisation is a result of offering real care to the community. Here at Social Enterprise UK, growth, which the government has focused on since inception, means everyone rises together, that everyone’s life is improved. For that to happen, we need to ensure we look after the most vulnerable members of our society.   Access to dental care is challenging for people. The government admitted as much in a 2024 policy paper. An aging population, more complex health needs and an increase in children with high levels of tooth decay are all creating a significant rise in demand for services. If you’re homeless, have learning disabilities, mental health issues or severe anxiety, finding a dentist can feel like a mountain to climb.   The growth of Community Dental Services CIC (CDS), which specialises in caring for vulnerable patients and operates 58 clinics across much of the East of England and the Midlands, is therefore no surprise. Patients with complex needs who require specialist treatment are referred to CDS by a general high street dentist or health or social care professional. Dental health is a key indicator of overall health and wellbeing but is often overlooked. Poor oral health contributes to chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory infections. And then there’s mental health; poor oral health can erode confidence, limit social interaction and damage mental wellbeing.    A business for the community CDS was formerly part of the public sector. After what one former Clinical Director described as “a never ending cycle of constant reorganisations and frequent cuts to our dental budgets to fund other parts of the health service,” senior leaders took up a ‘Right to Request’ option made possible by 2010 health service reforms, asking the Regional Health Authority to leave the public sector and set up independently. The founders wanted to control the destiny of the organisation and make changes to the service in the best interests of patients and employees. One of those founders is the current CEO Helen Paisley. It was the beginning of Community Dental Services Community Interest Company (CIC). CDS is a business which operates as a social enterprise. It is wholly owned by employees, who have representatives on the Board and can influence how it is run, especially concerning the care provided to patients. It is now commissioned by the NHS and local authorities to provide community dental services, oral health improvement, and epidemiology surveys in seven counties. CDS provide more than 63,000 patient appointments annually and 5,275 children have participated in supervised toothbrushing programmes.   Those concerned about NHS privatisation by stealth should know that, as a community interest company, any surplus is reinvested straight back into patient care, oral health improvement or into community oral health projects. Beginning with a single contract in Bedfordshire in 2011, CDS now provides special care and paediatric dental services in seven counties. Turnover has grown to £34m and a lot of jobs have been created: the workforce has grown to 500.    Growth through innovation  As an independent business, CDS has been able to innovate free of the bureaucracy of the public sector. It has invested in a mobile dental fleet to reach underserved communities, including partnering with local charities to support homeless people, a group that is notoriously hard to reach and who face many barriers to accessing healthcare.    Growth has also come from ‘flexible’ commissioning, where CDS has responded quickly in developing new micro services that address local commissioner priorities, enabling the business to test new service models that are potentially scalable.   A good example is a recent ‘pop-up’ clinic in Luton where CDS provided examinations, oral health advice and preventative treatment to 100 local children in a sports centre. Commissioned by Luton Borough Council to address the high levels of child oral health improvements needed locally, it supported a ‘Covid generation’ of children who have never seen a dentist, received preventative advice or had simple interventions such as small fillings.   Labour won the 2024 election promising growth, describing it as 'good jobs and productivity in every part of the country making everyone better off.' As a business, Community Dental Services are certainly productive and creating jobs. And if ‘health is wealth’ as the old saying goes, plenty of people are better off because of the work of this growing social enterprise. communitydentalservices.co.uk

If we want workers to be productive and boost the economy, someone is going to have to look after the kids. London Early Years Foundation is helping to make childcare affordable for everyone. You wouldn’t think the late, great Whitney Houston and PM Keir Starmer have much in common. But just as Whitney believed children are the future and that we need to teach them well, Keir Starmer wrote an election-winning manifesto that promised ‘A new Britain … where our children are equipped with the skills to thrive in the future’. His government has had a relentless focus on growth since gaining power, but growth requires productivity and if the workers are going to be productive, someone is going to have to look after the kids. And for that to happen, childcare needs to be affordable for everyone. Providing access to high quality, affordable early years education and care is the purpose of London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), which looks after 4,000 children across 43 nurseries in 13 London boroughs. Only 14% of nurseries nationally are rated ‘outstanding’ by children's services regulator Ofsted but 46% of LEYF’s nurseries are rated as such. One mother, whose child attends LEYF New Cross Nursery & Pre-School, describes it as “Excellent. Staff are well trained, clearly love their job and are very caring. Children are entertained with many activities promoting language, musical awareness, physical agility etc. We're glad our child attends New Cross and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it." Three quarters of LEYF’s nurseries are situated in areas identified as having high levels of deprivation, but all children are welcome, irrespective of social background or ability. Equal access to childcare is made possible by LEYF’s unique cross-subsidiary model, with profits from nurseries in wealthier areas helping to subsidise places for children in less affluent communities. Financially, better performing nurseries in Crystal Palace, Camberwell and Maida Value subsidise nursery places in poorer neighbourhoods. “Since our son started attending LEYF Nursery Barking Riverside, we've seen remarkable growth in him. He has become more confident, independent, and sociable. What we appreciate most is the strong support and communication we receive from the staff. It truly feels like a partnership, with everyone working together to ensure the best development for our son,” commented another parent. Growing up together The organisation started in 1903 as Westminster Health Society during a time of poverty and shockingly high mortality when founders embarked on an ambitious plan to promote child welfare and family health at the heart of a community in need. More than a century later, that focus on making a positive social impact has blossomed into all areas of the business. Many of LEYF’s senior staff started out as apprentices in the organisation, helped by a Career Pathways programme which supports growth into leadership. Of the 1,000 staff, 120 are apprentices, an approach which reduces recruitment costs, strengthens retention, and supports social mobility. Bobbi Jo describes how, when she first started as a LEYF apprentice, she just wanted to find a job she enjoyed where she could keep learning. “I did and I’ve never stopped learning. LEYF supported me through my degree and gave me the confidence to keep progressing. I always hoped I’d become a manager by the time I was 30… but I made it at 25! It’s been such a journey.” An Early Years Degree graduate, Bobbi Jo in now a Nursery Manager at LEYF’s Bessborough Nursery and Pre-School. All staff (including the chefs and cleaners) can access tailored training, covering subjects such as child development, sustainability, SEND, and nutrition – ensuring children benefit from confident, knowledgeable educators. LEYF also offers a bespoke Early Years degree with the University of Wolverhampton. Keir Starmer's manifesto focused on growth that promised ‘A new Britain … where our children are equipped with the skills to thrive in the future’. He would no doubt be happy to know that LEYF’s work has led to business growth, with revenue increasing by 11% and 75 jobs being created last year. LEYF has grown steadily and (importantly for a social business) sustainably over the past decade, expanding from 23 social enterprise nurseries in 2014 to 43 nurseries by 2025. This contrasts with the picture generally, with research by UCL finding that the number of nurseries in England declined between 2018 and 2024. They found a 19% decline in the not-for-profit group.  If LEYF’s trajectory continues, it will help to meet the increasing demand for quality childcare. A 2024 report by the London Assembly found a shortage of available childcare and staff shortages, noting the knock-on effect this can have on women, who statistically are more likely to have to choose between career progression and childcare costs. Instead of being surrendered to shareholders, as a social enterprise, LEYF’s profits are reinvested to provide more childcare services to more communities. A growing business that nurtures the development of children and staff, making for healthier, happier communities. That’s the kind of growth both the Prime Minister and the electorate can get behind. leyf.org.uk

Evenbreak is a social enterprise set up to close the disability employment gap, giving disabled people access to the same opportunities in the workplace as others. From not knowing which employers genuinely welcome disabled candidates to inaccessible recruitment processes – disabled people face multiple barriers in entering, thriving and progressing in the workplace. Many often lack self-confidence in a work culture where negative perceptions of disabled people still exist. Breaking down barriers Through everything it does, Evenbreak works to break down these barriers. The social enterprise runs an online jobs board specifically for disabled candidates to find work with inclusive employers. The majority of its income is through charging organisations for advertising their roles. Since the social enterprise was set up, over 700 employers have advertised on the site and more than 90,000 candidates have registered on the platform. Evenbreak also delivers training and consultancy services to help organisations make their systems and processes more inclusive, removing any disabling barriers people may face. To counter negative perceptions, it promotes success stories of disabled people in work. Income from the jobs board and training services enables Evenbreak to run its Career Hive: a career support service for disabled people containing online resources and workshops, a directory of support services, ‘meet the employer’ events and one-to-one career coaching.  The Hive improves candidates’ confidence by giving them the skills and support needed to succeed. So far, around 200,000 people have accessed the Hive, with 500 receiving personalised coaching. Experts through experience Evenbreak was founded by Jane Hatton in 2011. She had been working in the field of inclusion and diversity when, on becoming disabled herself, she established Evenbreak. Working largely from bed following spinal surgery, she set up a business dedicated to connecting disabled candidates and inclusive employers. All Evenbreak’s staff are disabled, with all services designed and delivered by disabled people, bringing an authenticity to its work that is grounded in lived experience. Creating an inclusive workplace culture is embedded within the social enterprise itself, which has a strong focus on incorporating the principles of intersectionality into its operations. Given disability doesn’t discriminate, this approach looks at different, interlocking aspects of a person’s identity - such as race, gender, age and sexual orientation - and how these can result in individuals facing multiple forms of discrimination. Taking an intersectional approach allows Evenbreak to understand the multiple issues faced by candidates, and better tailor its work to the needs of individuals. All its training and consultancy work includes an emphasis on intersectionality. Setting up as a social enterprise was important to Jane, as it allowed the business to focus on the people it supports, unlike a traditional business focused on shareholder value. As she puts it: “We didn’t want to be a traditional company, as it would mean profiting from the inequality that disabled people face - and also, we wanted to be driven by the needs of disabled people, not the needs of shareholders. But we didn’t want to set up as a charity, as that would send out all the wrong messages; our candidates aren’t charity cases, they are a valuable source of talent to employers.” An award-winning social enterprise Evenbreak’s work transforming the world of employment for disabled people was recognised in 2023 when it won the Building Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Justice Award at our UK Social Enterprise Awards. Commenting on this success, Jane said: “Winning the UK Social Enterprise Award for Building Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Justice was a great opportunity to endorse our work to existing and future clients - and showcase the benefits of diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice more widely, from a social impact perspective.”  evenbreak.co.uk

Competition lies at the heart of our economic system, purportedly driving businesses to innovate, allowing the best to flourish. Social enterprises on the other hand like to do things differently, and in the Midlands five businesses have taken a new and exciting approach to collaborate in order to win new business and increase their social impact. What’s more they are all working within a sector that is not particularly well known for its ethical practices – the cleaning industry. Argonaut Community Enterprises, Jericho Cleaning, Radiant Cleaners and Upbeat Clean are all social enterprise cleaning companies dedicated to creating job opportunities for marginalised groups. Whilst each have specific social missions (Argonaut trains and employs deaf people, Upbeat works with refugee mums and Jericho and Radiant both support anyone facing major barriers to work) they are all dedicated to using cleaning as a means to help people into secure employment, earn a good wage and increase their confidence. Each business operates in a different area of the Midlands, with a bit of crossover around Birmingham, and for a while they all worked in isolation. This started to change following a meeting between Amie Grice, Business Development at Argonaut, and Nigel Lawrence, Senior Social Enterprise Manager at Jericho, where they realised the similarities in their work and that they were talking to the same people regarding future work opportunities. Following this meeting Argonaut and Jericho decided to collaborate more, attending the same events and even pitching each other’s services – Argonaut in North Birmingham and Jericho in the South. According to Amie,through catching up and chatting at events “we saw the opportunity of working together would expand our coverage and strengthen our businesses. Opening doors that were previously closed to small Social Enterprises.” At the same time Nigel was in contact with Matt Parfitt, founder of Radiant Cleaners and both of them were also helping out Upbeat Clean, the newest of the businesses involved. Working together to find opportunities and increase impact All four organisations met at Jericho’s offices on 6 February 2023 and decided to support each other through finding potential opportunities and sharing learning, information and resources – this could be identifying new work or sharing information on what’s working and what’s not. Sharing learning has been one of the key benefits of collaborating, as Michael Gladwell, Head of Enterprise at Upbeat Clean put it: “It's been so helpful for Upbeat Clean to be part of this group and learn with these really experienced social enterprise cleaning businesses. Everyone has been so open to share what they have learned and developed over the years so that we can all maximise our social impact!” All four businesses agree that operating as a social enterprise has been a key part in fostering their collaborative approach, Nigel Lawrence stating that: “Social enterprises are united by their 'why'. We've got so much in common - we're about seeing problems in society solved. So, sharing ideas and best practice - to have more impact together - makes sense.” Where opportunities arise all four social enterprises are looking to put together joint proposals to allow them to work on bigger contracts, increasing the social value and impact of the services provided. Recently the group have submitted a proposal to a client to deliver cleaning services in a standard, uniform manner across the whole of the Midlands region. Watch this space Argonaut, Jericho, Radiant Cleaners and Upbeat Communities are showing that collaboration can work better than competition and, what’s more, another Midlands based cleaning social enterprise – Rising Stars Property Solutions has recently joined the four original businesses. Not only is working together helping each business to find new opportunities and raise each other’s profiles it has also got the potential to really help those marginalised groups which each social enterprise supports. As Matt Parfitt puts it: “Individually each of our companies is too small for some contracts. We are demonstrating to large companies that we have heard them, we are collaborating and we are offering them what they want and need. We solve a cleaning and social value problem for them – working together creates the social value they want, delivers the excellent cleaning they need and changes the lives of people across the Midlands. So if you need cleaning anywhere in the Midlands get in touch!’ It’s still early days for this new collaboration and all five involved have exciting plans for the future. Watch this space.

Unwritten social rules of corporate office culture and recruitment practices can present real barriers for neurodiverse people, both in finding employment and then thriving at work. Only 29% of autistic adults in the UK have paying jobs, compared with 80% of working-age people without a disability [i], despite research showing the vast majority want to work [ii]. The seemingly successful minority who do find work still face challenges, often struggling to be themselves in the workplace and not receiving the support they need. auticon is a social enterprise on a mission to change this and build a more inclusive world, by addressing inequalities in employment for neurodivergent adults and showcasing the strengths of neurodiversity in society. It was initially founded in Berlin in 2011 by Dirk Müller Remus, a father wanting better employment opportunities for his autistic son. The business model was simple: employing autistic adults as IT consultants, tapping into the STEM skills often associated with neurodiversity to help organisations in need of tech support. Following investment from Germany’s first social investment fund, the business grew to have six German offices, with large clients such as BMW and Allianz. Global expansion followed, with auticon UK opening in 2016. The company operates in 14 countries with two main workstreams: IT consulting (in data science, analytics, engineering, cyber-security and quality assurance) and offering EDI services on neuroinclusion. Creating jobs and changing lives auticon employs adults on the autism spectrum as technology consultants, supported by job coaches and project managers, who are matched with client organisations to suit their individual skills. Its innovation lab, auticon Labs, is where neurodivergent teams-members collaborate with clients and investors to develop technology solutions to the challenges of neurodivergent people in the workplace and in their day-to-day lives. Globally, auticon currently employs more than 450 autistic consultants on full-time contracts with big businesses including PwC, NatWest, Deloitte and Zurich among their many UK clients. 67% of auticon consultants had been unemployed for more than a year, despite 85% having a professional qualification or degree, and the impact of supportive employment has been transformative [iii]. 92% of consultants feel supported at work, 87% say their quality of life has improved since joining the organisation, and 91% believe they’re valued for who they are. auticon consultants Chris Lever said: “Before I joined auticon, I had been unemployed for 15 months, and was being treated for depression for the third time. auticon took me in and I’ve been working consistently for 3.5 years now. That is the power of a social enterprise.” Transforming business culture As well as directly supporting autistic people to build successful IT careers, auticon works with other employers to shift perceptions of neurodiversity in the world of work. auticon’s Neuroinclusion Services help organisations to become confident neuroinclusive employers through consultancy, training and support. 85% of clients report a greater understanding of neurodiversity as a result of working with auticon, and the same percentage say their team feels more confident working with autistic people. Furthermore, the skills and insights of auticon consultants are having a real positive impact on clients’ work; 93% reported that consultants made valuable professional contributions to projects, with increased accuracy and efficiency as well as more innovative approaches cited as benefits of their alternative perspectives. Gareth Crabtree, Head of Data Design Enablement at auticon client PwC UK, said: “Throughout my time working with auticon consultants, they have consistently demonstrated a range of technical skills that have allowed them to produce innovative and high quality work. Having autistic people on my team has led me to having a much better understanding of neurodiversity, helping to make me a more well-rounded leader. The support that auticon’s job coaches provide is highly valued, and it is very clear that the needs of their consultants are very much at the centre of everything that they do.” Shifting perceptions auticon works closely with customers, local communities and other partners to raise awareness across society of the benefits that autistic people can offer employers as well as the barriers they face. So far auticon has delivered more than 235 awareness events and trained 66 organisations. Last year, they also launched a podcast series, featuring leading voices on autism from around the world. auticon places neurodivergent people at the heart of its workforce. All consultants are on the autism spectrum and 78% of the workforce are neurodivergent, making it a majority autistic business. Its success shows how a social enterprise can transform the lives of people facing real barriers in the workplace, not only empowering individuals but changing the way they’re viewed by big businesses and wider society. In 2022, auticon’s incredible impact was formally recognised when it was named UK Social Enterprise of the Year at the UK Social Enterprise Awards, and since then the company has gone from strength to strength. This summer, auticon joined forces with a Norwegian social enterprise called Unicus that runs a similar model, making it the largest autistic-majority company in the world.   You can find out more about auticon's impact in their latest impact report auticon.com/uk [i] ONS statistics on outcomes for disabled people in the UK [ii] See the Autism Employment Gap Report from the National Autistic Society [iii] auticon Impact Report 2022