by Paul Eagleton, Technical Director
This week marks the 4th birthday of Driving Change, delivered by Kenny Waste Management Social Enterprise. That’s cause for celebration, but it is also a good opportunity to reflect on some of our successes and those who have been involved.
Looking back, there are many stories that demonstrate our progress and our journey so far. We’ve been fortunate to work in collaboration with a number of likeminded organisations, national and local, ranging from charities to large construction businesses. Together, we’ve helped real people change their lives for the better, which is a genuine privilege to be a part of.
You can read about some of their experiences on the Kenny Waste Management blog. These stories continue to be an inspiration to all of us, and it’s fulfilling to see how far some people have come:
https://www.kennywastemanagement.co.uk/tag/driving-change
From the very start, our social enterprise wanted to strategically address the inequalities that exist for those who are furthest from meaningful employment. We are on a mission to empower organisations to offer long-term jobs, training, and qualifications to the most disadvantaged. In that mission, we are guided by our vision that all workplaces can be truly inclusive and create bright futures for all.
Even before we started the social enterprise, the team at Kenny Waste Management had always taken steps to build a workplace where everyone’s contribution was valued. During recruitment, we regularly looked for a person’s raw potential and past background which may have been holding them back from employment. So, setting up a separate social enterprise was a natural step in helping others adopt the same approach.
Put simply, people stand at the heart of all our work.
We understand that some people are in difficult circumstances but are determined to make positive choices and change their own lives. We, as a social enterprise, simply help make these changes more realistic by offering opportunity, structured support, and lots of encouragement. There is no such thing as unemployable and if we, as businesses, close our minds and doors to the so-called “hard to employ”, we are missing out on a whole pool of fantastic potential workers. Our Driving Change colleagues need and deserve secure and meaningful jobs, and we want loyal and hardworking team members.
Our approach is participant centred, it has been built around a robust framework including defined Values, Three Signature Programmes, and a Theory of Change.
As a result, over the past 4 years, we’ve become a Living Wage Employer, are accredited with Social Enterprise UK, have been nominated for various awards, and engaged with hundreds of people throughout. Our core focus has been on having positive impact and making a real difference. This will remain our focus in the coming years.
We started small, with realistic goals aimed at helping individuals become more employable and ultimately improve their life situation. As we look to the future, scaling up our activity, one key thing we have learned is that people will always surprise you. We all have huge amounts of potential within us. Our own potential is unique to each of us. For some, it’s easy to find, while in others it may have been clouded by years of negative life experiences. When I was growing up, my dad instilled this mantra in me:
“The greatest waste in life is wasted potential.”
If just the right amount of time and care is invested in helping people reconnect with positive work experiences, enough guidance and mentoring given, and the right opportunity offered, then they can start to unlock some of that incredible potential. When someone takes hold of their own future, taps into their potential, the effects are felt not just by them alone, but by their friends, family, and the wider community in which they live.
You can get in touch with Paul and join us in our social enterprise mission by writing to us at:
drivingchange@kennywastemanagement.co.uk
