STRONGER: Dorset businesses are leading the way in support for the Jobs Foundation. Pictured from left are Jobs Foundation president Lord Matthew Elliott, REIDsteel managing director Simon Boyd and Dorset Chamber chief executive Ian Girling at the Dorset Business Festival conference in October 2024
Support is growing from companies in Dorset for the national Jobs Foundation charity which champions ‘business as a force for good‘.
An independent and non-partisan organisation, it advocates for business of all kinds for the valuable role they play in society – including job creation, training, lifting people out of poverty, advancing social mobility and providing funding for public services through tax.
Simon Boyd, managing director of Christchurch-based REIDsteel, a founding member of the Jobs Foundation’s business council, said: “The Jobs Foundation is not a trade organisation nor is it a politically biased lobby group.
“It is a much-needed organisation that recognises the important role that businesses and those who run them play in society.
“Businesses are often seen by many as vehicles of good fortune for those who own or run them and as such, the vital role they play in society sometimes gets ignored.
“Business should be celebrated for their achievements and role in creating employment and taking people from welfare into work.”
Simon, who is a trustee of the foundation, added: “I urge every business to join the foundation.
“Having a grouping of businesses across the spectrum, no matter their size or sector, will help us realise change and promote the positive impact every business makes on society.”
The Jobs Foundation launched in 2023. Nearly 1,000 business have already joined as members of its business council – covering a broad range of sectors, sizes and regions – with many from Dorset.
Jobs Foundation president Lord Matthew Elliott, who was one of the keynote speakers at the Dorset Chamber’s Business Festival conference in October, said: “Businesses deserve thanks and recognition for all they do.
“There is growing support for the foundation in Dorset where businesses of all kinds continue to join and help us show that business is a force for good.”
Dorset Chamber’s Business Festival Conference in October had the theme of ‘business as a force for good’.
The chamber, which is Dorset’s leading business support organisation and the county’s voice of business, has thrown its weight behind the foundation.
Ian Girling, chief executive, said: “We fully support the work of the Jobs Foundation and completely agree with its principles.
“Our Business Festival conference showed just how critically important a role business plays in Dorset and I would encourage firms to join the council to support the valuable work of the foundation.”
Dorset Chamber has nearly 700 members, representing 37,000 employees, and is the only chamber in the county affiliated to the British Chambers of Commerce. It is Dorset’s voice of business.
REIDsteel, which employees 130 people, designs, manufactures, and builds steel structures including their secondary steel, cladding, glazing and doors. It has exported to more than 140 countries to date.
The Jobs Foundation provides businesses with tools and practical support to find and train people in poverty within their community.
It has recently released its foundational research ‘Two Million Jobs’ showing how businesses play a crucial role in helping people from welfare into work.
Its business council is free to join through a simple form on its website here or email info@thejobsfoundation.com with your contact details saying you wish to join.
Businesses can also leave their details with REIDsteel by emailing kylierachman@reidsteel.co.uk and they will be passed on to the Jobs Foundation.
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