STOs aren’t just doing good work in local communities, they’re good businesses, too. Rooted in place and driven by purpose, these organisations bring real resilience to the people and places they serve – values that translate directly into productivity. By supporting people into work and helping others start their own socially-trading organisations, STOs build lasting relationships rather than one-off fixes, making the social economy not a side note to growth, but one of its most productive engines.
Jobs of value: how STOs create employment that matters
Social enterprises consistently demonstrate stronger employment growth than many other business models, as highlighted by the 2025 State of Social Enterprise Report. This pattern is reflected across Kindred’s investees.
Despite ongoing economic pressures, 39% of STOs increased their workforce over the past year, while a further 43% maintained staffing levels – only 18% reported a reduction, for reasons like loss of key contracts, fragile cash-flow and burnout.
However, the value of these jobs extends beyond the number created. STOs are creating employment that is rooted in communities and often employs people who are furthest from the labour market. The economic contribution of jobs created also extends beyond direct employment. Evidence suggests that an additional job in the sector generates, on average, around 0.4 additional jobs elsewhere in the economy. If, collectively, we have facilitated an additional 271 jobs, that sees 108 indirect jobs created in the local economy. Kindred carries out an annual review with every investee each year: 2025’s conversations used Good Work principles, to explore how STOs create employment that is locally rooted, inclusive and supports progression.
Investee STOs now sustain 405.5 full-time equivalent (FTE), demonstrating these trends:
- Locally-anchored employment: STOs create employment opportunities within the communities they serve. More than half (57%) of STOs report employing people who live within five miles of their workplace. This helps retain wages, spending power and skills within local communities, contributing to community wealth building and strengthening local economies.
- Inclusive employment: STOs actively employ people who face barriers to entering or remaining in work. These include people in recovery, young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), neurodivergent workers, single parents and people returning to employment after long periods of inactivity. More importantly, STOs provide tailored support alongside employment itself, including mentoring, flexible working arrangements and apprenticeships.
- Job progression and economic mobility: STOs help people progress within work. In 2025 alone, 31 employees moved from part-time or temporary positions into full-time roles, improving income stability and career prospects, because roles created by STOs deliver value beyond traditional economic measures.
Why this work matters: Kitty’s Launderette
Creating good quality, inclusive, local jobs is one of the key ways Kitty’s Launderette invests back into its North Liverpool community.
“Kitty’s recruits people who live walking distance to the launderette – working with local children’s centres, schools, job centres and refugee support organisations to reach potential applicants who reflect the diverse population in our neighbourhood,” says co-ordinator Grace Harrison. “This strengthens connections across the area, with the team hosting the space each day and getting to know customers.”
Kitty’s creates opportunities for residents who may face additional barriers to entering and staying in work, with guaranteed weekly shifts set at a worker’s desired number of hours – 16/20/25/35 – to fit around personal circumstances like caring responsibilities, health needs, studying or volunteering.
Its 11-strong team workers all earn the Real Living Wage rate (even for young people on employment schemes, with no age-related pay) and supports workers with financial literacy training and access to interest free loans up to £1,000 to help workers get on top of credit card debt and cover unexpected expenses.