Business leaders convene in Glasgow to tackle unemployment and improve social mobility
Business leaders convene in Glasgow to tackle unemployment and improve social mobility
Business leaders visit Business in the Community’s first Scottish Pride of Place programme in Drumchapel, Glasgow to understand and address the barriers facing people living and working in the area.
Business in the Community (BITC) has today brought senior business leaders to the Drumchapel area of Glasgow to understand the challenges faced by those living and working in the area, leading to low social mobility, unemployment and elevated levels of food insecurity. Under the leadership of Roisin Currie, Chief Executive of Greggs, business leaders were brought together to come up with meaningful, long-term solutions to these challenges.
The visit was part of BITC’s flagship The King’s Seeing is Believing programme. It was attended by senior business leaders from a range of companies, including Greggs, The Big Issue, Burger King, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Mott MacDonald, Skyscanner and Wheatley Group.
As part of the visit, business leaders visited the following community organisations:
- Drumchapel Community Centre, where they had the opportunity to engage with a variety of community organisations working to support local communities, including:
- G15 Thriving Place and the G15 Youth Project, supporting young people and the local community by providing one-to-one support and various programmes and activities.
- Drumchapel Community Larder, which provides food to support local families experiencing food insecurity.
- 3D Drumchapel, which supports the wellbeing of families in Drumchapel.
- Men Matter Hub, creating a safe space for men to access mental health support and supporting them to find employment.
- Simon Community, tackling homelessness by providing skills development courses and supporting those experiencing homelessness to find employment.
- Wheatley Works, supporting those who face barriers to employment by offering targeted and comprehensive support to develop skills, gain experience and secure employment.
The visit comes as research shows that the unemployment rate among 16-64-year-olds in Glasgow is 4.4%, significantly higher than the Scottish average of 3.3% and the UK average of 3.7%.[2] In addition, three in 10 people aged 16-64 in Glasgow are economically inactive, compared to one in four 16-64-year-olds in Scotland and two in 10 16-64-year-olds in the UK.[3] Research also shows that 14% of adults in Scotland experience food insecurity, which has increased from 9% in 2021.[4]
Roisin Currie, Chief Executive of Greggs, said:
“The King’s Seeing is Believing programme is a testament to the power of collaboration between businesses, local government and community organisations and the true impact that can come from businesses supporting their local communities. Today’s visit to Glasgow shone a light on some of the challenges facing those who live and work in Drumchapel and I was inspired by the work being delivered by community organisations to support those who need it most. I am confident that the visit will lead to some meaningful actions taken by the businesses that attended.”
Mary Macleod, Chief Executive of Business in the Community, said:
“Today’s Seeing is Believing visit to Glasgow allowed us to understand the challenges and barriers that face those who live and work there. This was an incredibly moving visit and it was inspirational to hear from those who have benefitted from the support of the community organisations already doing fantastic work in the city. Business in the Community works to transform lives and help communities thrive and visits like today’s Seeing is Believing visit show business leaders first-hand the benefits that collaboration brings to communities and the importance of taking action to support communities so we can deliver change at pace and scale.”
Business in the Community has established a Social Mobility Working Group, focused on how its members can champion and collaborate in Scotland to increase businesses’ impact on social mobility. Its work will use case studies to raise awareness of best practice, seek new opportunities for change in the communities of Drumchapel, Torry and Kirkcaldy where the BITC Place Programme is operating and provide regular reports to the BITC Scotland Leadership Board. Membership is comprised of individuals from leading organisations.[5]
The King’s Seeing is Believing programme was established by the then Prince of Wales in 1990. The programme, supported by Salesforce and Linklaters LLP, was born from a simple but powerful belief that the best way to close the gap between the boardroom and the community was to take business leaders out to the communities and, through the power of experiential learning, to inspire and challenge participants. The visits are designed to encourage business leaders to think strategically about the implications for their own businesses and the practical actions that can be taken in response, leading to meaningful and sustained impact for both businesses and communities. To date, over 25,000 business leaders have taken part in the King’s Seeing is Believing programme which has led to various initiatives being set up including Career Ready, Ban the Box and mentoring circles in collaboration with the Department for Work and Pensions.
ENDS
Notes to editor
- Photos of the visit are available upon request.
- Data from the Annual Population Survey 2024.
- Data from the Annual Population Survey 2024.
- National Centre for Social Research: Scottish Health Survey reports high levels of food insecurity | National Centre for Social Research.
- List of Social Mobility Working Group Members:
- Chair: Angela Halliday, Director, Social Impact UK&I at Sodexo & BITC Scotland Leadership Board member
- Secretariat Support: Emilie Wright, Sodexo
- BITC Support: Georgia Watson, Senior Lead & Evelyn Rorie, Support Officer
- Members:
- Wendy Golden, Director of ESG, City Facilities Management Holdings
- Steven Jolly, Deputy Head of Corporate Banking – Scotland & NI, HSBC
- Mairi McInnes, Director, Global Clients and Industries, PwC
- Sheelagh Cooley, Partner, Shoosmiths
- Mark Darley, Group HR Manager, Enterprise Mobility
- Danny Davies, Director, Purpose Coalition
- James Brandon, Director UK DE&I and Responsible Business Programme, CBRE
- Lindsay Cramond, Director, FWB Park Brown
- Rosemary Mooney, Responsible Business Manager, SQA
- Iain Mcclay, Head of Legal Propositions, Aegon UK
- Laura Pearson, Head of HR, Equans
- Rhonda Miller, Societal Lead, Total Energies
For further information, please contact Polly Dacam, Press Officer, on 020 7566 6638.