Ambassador Programmes
As part of our work to increase knowledge of, and encourage working with social enterprises within a wide range of organisations, we are running three Ambassador programmes. The Ambassadors will gain a better understanding about what social enterprise means, enabling them to advocate and promote social enterprise within their local networks.
1. Social Enterprise ELP (Education Learning Partnership) Leads
We are supporting six secondary school teachers to become champions for social enterprise in their respective Education Learning Partnership areas. These Ambassadors act as a reference point for other schools who want to start, run and develop social enterprise activities and help to embed social enterprise in the Enterprise Curriculum of schools and colleges. Each teacher has been awarded a bursary to undertake a series of activities including study visits, work shadow assignments and training on social enterprise structures. The programme has been developed in association with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust to help raise awareness of social enterprise and to ensure that all pupils in the West Midlands get the opportunity to consider this model as a way of doing business.
2. Jobcentre Plus district managers
We are providing access to a range of learning opportunities to enable seven Jobcentre Plus district managers to become social enterprise ambassadors within their local offices, to ensure that routes to social enterprise either in terms of business start up or as an employment opportunity are better signposted and understood.
3. Chambers of Commerce
The ambassador model is also being used across Chambers of Commerce in the area. Embedding understanding of social enterprise within the membership and support structures of the chambers of commerce is a key way to inform and promote the opportunities that exist to work collaboratively and co-operatively between private sector organisations and the social enterprise sector. We are working with six staff, one per chamber, as part of a structured learning programme.