How collaboration builds sustainability & better job outcomes for trainees in our Social Enterprise
One of the unique characteristics of hashtagsocialenterprise model, like ours Speedpak Group, is that it grows and evolves through collaboration. As a purpose driven company we’re about creating stakeholder value in our community. By continuing to do well, we can continue to do good hashtagesgs #sdg’s The official opening of our new Masterkabin Ltd today on the grounds of our commercial premises in Clonshaugh Business & Technology Park, is a great example of this. Here’s the background that led to this development.
As a Work Integration Social Enterprise, our model is built around supporting our trainees journey from being long term unemployed to securing a job in the open labour market. To help us achieve this outcome, we look to secure investment from a variety of sources including Government, Philanthropy, Private and Community sectors while also re-investing our own commercial profits.
Back in 2020, we secured grant investment from The Dormant Account Kickstart Fund (via Department of Rural and Community Development Pobal Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration ) to develop a programme to support people with a criminal conviction secure commercial work experience, industry led training and improve their job prospects. With over 25 years’ experience in developing such programmes and having employed over 1,550 local unemployed since our foundation (with the support of hashtagCEScheme Department of Social Protection) we were well positioned to deliver.
The grant also provided for capital expenditure to allow us add to our work experience and training facilities and contribute to our sustainability. With the surprise arrival of Covid, we ‘flipped’ our original idea of redesigning internally to instead adding additional space externally, therefore giving more space to our trainees and to our commercial operation. We felt that a new external cabin facility properly designed, would allow us to relocate our Shamrock Rosettes business (www.shamrockrosettes.com) while remaining integrated with our current building. As the rationale was strong, we pursued it energetically.
Fairly quickly we realized that there was a lot more involved to making this project a reality. The planning, project and budget management requirements were extensive and beyond our internal capacity. That’s when we reached out to AbbVie, a long term supporter of our mission and neighbouring business, who immediately responded to our call. Shortly after onsite visits from both @Derek Dignam (Plant Manager, ABBVIE) and later by Niall Kearney of McElroy Associates (one of ABBVIE’s partner suppliers) we were kindly offered pro-bono architectural, planning and project management expertise which we very gratefully accepted.
Once planning was underway, it soon became clear that to achieve what we wanted, we needed a larger budget. The impact of Brexit and labour shortages, resulting in higher costs, also became a contributing factor.
This issue was brought to the Speedpak Board for discussion. Our non-executive voluntary Directors play a vital role in not only ensuring we are sustainable and remain on mission, but also in helping solve problems and identifying opportunities. As a direct result of these discussions, we heard about fellow social enterprise, the Northside Home Care Service (NHCS), who invest their surplus profits in projects that benefit the local community. Following initial contact and site visits by Enda Fulham (Head of Projects, NHCS) we were invited to submit our grant proposal to their Board, which was successful.
With Covid continuing to impact negatively on our operation, the war in Ukraine brought about further uncertainty. Both slowed the project and created additional financial challenges. We now knew that Speedpak would have to raise loan finance to match the investments already secured. That’s when we contacted a social finance lender. In Ireland Social Finance Foundation provides wholesale social finance to two social lending organizations. We have a long standing relationship with one of those Clann Credo – Community Loan Finance (the other is Community Finance Ireland). What makes these lenders different to traditional banks, is that they take social impact along with repayment capacity into consideration when making their determination. Following our business plan submission and their due diligence, our application was successful.
So at this point, we had pro bono project management services in place and a budget to pay for planning fees, a customized 40 x 13 foot cabin and for the associated ground works. The Masterkabin Ltd was ordered in early 2022 and the ground works undertaken by supplier Elliott Properties Limited began in August. From an early stage in the project AbbVie had committed to covering costs associated with electrical fit out of the cabin, including light, heating systems, communications and alarms. As this was commissioned and paid for directly by AbbVie (to supplier J Vaughan Electrical Contractors Ltd) the standard of fit was exceptional and met the very high industry standards – both health and safety and environmental – they use for their own manufacturing plant in Clonshaugh. The internal fit out of the Masterkabin Ltd was also supported by AbbViewho supplied all the tables required, from surplus, previously used equipment in very good condition from their facility in Clonshaugh. Again, we were the very lucky beneficiaries!
To support these developments, we knew that moving our Shamrock Rosette production operation into the Masterkabin would require additional shelving for materials in a new location in proximity to the new facility. We also required new racking in the location vacated by Shamrock Rosettes which would now support our Speedpak Contract Services & e-Commerce Fulfilment business. An application was made to Dublin City Council hashtagsocialenterprise Capital Grants Scheme and we were successful in securing grant funding to purchase this plant and equipment.
And so, the opportunity provided by Government hashtagDormantAccountFunds led to leveraging further investment and pro-bono services from two commercial businesses and a social enterprise; a further grant opportunity from the local authority and loan finance from a social lending organisation. We now have a fantastic, fit for purpose addition to our facilities. This will benefit local long term unemployed people whom we employ, as well as the businesses we operate that provide the real work experience and industry led training, for many years to come.
Our capacity as a social enterprise to continue to service this community on Dublin’s Northside, as we have done for over four decades, is resourced by this good will and the acknowledgment that when we work together – State, Business, Community, Philanthropy – and with the support of social finance, we can improve the lives of many and the wider community as a result.
On behalf of the Board & my colleagues in Speedpak Group, I would like to acknowledge our partners for their unwavering support and for making this project a reality and a great success!
