Could Social Enterprise Solve New Brunswick's Employment Problems?
Saint John's group proposes five-year initiative to strengthen city's social-enterprise ecosystem

Two-thirds of Saint John teenagers don’t see themselves staying in the region within 10 years, according to a survey released in late April. Access to jobs was cited as one of their top concerns.

But a group of Saint John organizations is proposing a new, innovative solution could help solve the city’s — and ultimately the province’s — employment problems.

Saint John Community Fund is working with local partners and city and provincial levels of government to develop a significant, five-year project that uses social enterprise as a vehicle to assist individuals with barriers to transition to work.

The project will incorporate a robust evaluation framework to help build an evidence base for a potential social impact bond, if not impact investing in general, says Seth Asimakos, manager for the Saint John Community Fund.

Recent numbers from Statistics Canada add weight to the concerns of the youth mentioned. In April, New Brunswick’s jobless rate jumped to 10.9 per cent as the province shed 3,200 jobs. The province’s labour force also shrank by 1,900 people. In Saint John, the unemployment rate was 9.2 per cent.

The traditional approach to supporting people to join or rejoin the workforce entails job preparedness training and facilitating employment opportunities.

This proposed project would add another layer to that support — both scaling a number of social enterprises already in the works and creating a pipeline to launch new social enterprises, according to Seth.

Specifically, this would include the establishment of one social enterprise officer to support social enterprises already launched and another officer targeting the creation of a platform for incubating and developing new enterprises, including providing support and training around business plans, pitch and financing.

Saint John Community Fund already has some experience with social enterprise as a vehicle to overcome employment barriers. While these projects are still in the early stages, there’s potential to create a company that can perform in the marketplace and provide transition-to-work opportunities for people with barriers, according to Seth.

The importance of having the right people to provide support as the company develops quality assurance has become clear, Seth says. A key challenge facing a social enterprise established to support transition to work is blending the two objectives of providing training and development opportunities and meeting customers’ needs, which demands quality.

The Saint John group is in the last stages of submitting a proposal to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), which appears quite interested in exploring piloting and research opportunities around social enterprise and impact investing, Seth notes.

Seth also co-chaired a committee which recently submitted a proposal for a social enterprise policy framework for the province.

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