EMPLOYMENT
Social enterprises are attractive employers for jobseekers who are keen to make a
difference – millennials, in particular, follow their hearts when pursuing a career
Social enterprises are providers of
thousands of jobs for people who want
to make a difference. Data from 610
enterprises on the Index (which employ at
least one person) shows that they employ a
total of nearly 116,000 people. That’s an
average of 190 people per enterprise and
a median of 21.
The largest employers include the
Anchor Trust, England’s largest not-
for-profit provider of housing and care
for older people, with 8,600 employees.
United Learning Trust, a group of
academy and independent schools, has
4,850 employees. Sports and leisure
provider Fusion Lifestyle has 3,312
employees at 100 locations across the UK.
In terms of employees, most of the
enterprises on the Index – 84% – are small
and medium sized enterprises (SMEs),
or micro-enterprises. The government
defines SMEs as those with fewer than 250
employees, and these make up more than
half (53%) of the Index.
Micro-enterprises are those with
between zero and nine employees.
Nearly one-third (31%) of the Index are
micro-enterprises. Our employee figures
don’t capture those enterprises with no
employees, so it’s likely that the actual
figure is higher than this.
Social enterprises are likely to be
attractive employers both now and in the
future. The 2017 Deloitte Millennial Survey
talked to 8,000 people born between
1982 and 2004 with degrees in full-time
employment across 30 countries. It shows
that millennials want businesses to have a
positive impact on society. Almost nine in
ten of them believe that the success of a
business should be measured in terms of
more than just its financial performance,
and millennials tend to stay longer with
employers that engage in social issues.
FIGURE 5: THE FIVE LARGEST EMPLOYERS ON THE SE100 INDEX
8,600 employees
Anchor Trust
United Learning
Trust
4,850 employees
3,312 employees
Fusion Lifestyle
Ormiston Academies
Trust 3,032 employees
Oasis Commnity
Learning 2,990 employees
FIGURE 6: SMALLER EMPLOYERS DOMINATE THE SE100 INDEX
Number of employees:
0-9 (micro enterprises)
16%
10-49 (small enterprises)
31%
19%
34%
50-249 (medium enterprises)
250+ (large enterprises)
SE100 DATA REPORT | 11