Amey and Hays launch business support programme and grant

19 Jun 2023

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Earlier this month, Amey and Hays launched a new business support programme as part of their sustainable procurement commitments. The Amey Hays Social Enterprise Initiative programme will provide four VCSEs (voluntary, community or social enterprise organisations) with expert guidance and grant funding to help them scale up their work.

Amey and Hays will run collaborative discovery sessions with VCSE partners, designing tailored roadmaps to winning more work. With a grant of up to £10,000 available for each partner, Amey and Hays professionals will support VCSEs throughout the next phase to make best use of this funding in growing their operations. Sector experts from Social Enterprise UK will then independently review the programme’s impact and advise on how it could expand or improve to support more organisations in future.

The four participating organisations are:

• The Community Driving School CIC,changing lives with back to work training and driving courses to make people more employable
• Morgan Developments, a socially driven enterprise delivering inclusion throughout public and private sector frameworks
• Rising Stars Property Solutions CIC,providing practical work experience, relevant training and employment opportunities to marginalised groups who are furthest from the job market
• Standing Tall,改变公众的看法人们experiencing homelessness and committed to helping people discover their potential.

The programme was launched earlier this month at an event at Hays offices where all organisations got together to kick off the programme.

Sue Racster, Social Value Manager, Amey, commented, “We are delighted to have launched this initiative with Hays. We are incredibly passionate about sustainable procurement and this programme enables us to support organisations beyond our own supply chain. I’m incredibly excited to support the next phase of growth for the participating business and see the positive impact it has for them and their local communities.”

Michael Burgess, Chief People Officer, Amey, commented, “I am very pleased that the programme has launched and is now funding so many entrepreneurial organisations that look to help train and support people into the workplace.”

Elisabetta Bayliss, Managing Director of Enterprise Solutions at Hays, commented: “At Hays we’re passionate about supporting the communities we live and work amongst, and working with Amey we hope to arm the chosen VCSE’s to build upon the valuable work they are doing.

Alongside financial support, we’re looking forward to providing advice and insight to the organisations to help them scale up and think big, thus supporting more people.”

“We benefit society by investing in lifelong partnerships thatempower people and organisations to succeed.”

Nichola McAvoy, Senior Partnerships Manager at Social Enterprise UK, said: “It’s great to see this initiative to build capacity in social enterprises, which contribute so much to our economy and society but are often not recognised or supported. By enabling social enterprises to supply major organisations like Amey and Hays, this Programme can help to drive real positive change for people and planet, so we look forward to seeing its impact.”

Find out more about Amey’s sustainable procurement commitments, here: //www.tanaka-law.com/bolder-steps-together/

Further comment:

Pablo Morgan, Strategy Director, Morgan Developments, commented,“This opportunity is a validation of our passion, resilience and commitment to social value. We are looking forward to learning from experts and like-minded individuals to further our positive impact. We plan to make the most of this chance and grow our business further.”

Christy Acton, CEO and Founder, Standing Tall, commented,”We’re thrilled to be selected to work with Amey and Hays and can’t wait to benefit from working together”

La’Toyah Lewis, Founder and Managing Director, Rising Stars Property Solutions, commented,"We are grateful that we are in a position to work with such big household names (Amey and Hays) to help develop ourselves within the facilities management sector. The opportunity to join their supply chain or their contacts will help to sustain us and create employment opportunities producing tangible social impact outcomes".

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