Social enterprise founders in Leeds recognised in Forbes 30 under 30 list

Mr Timings-Thompson, 29, and Mr McBride, 28, run their company, We are Social Enterprise Recruitment, from Nexus, the innovation business hub on the University of Leeds campus.

As company directors, the business partners and their team trade as an agency that finds employees for the construction industry.

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The social enterprise also supports disadvantaged people – people who have been out of work for some time for various reasons such as suffering from ill health, being in prison, or looking after children. 

Mr Timings-Thompson met Mr McBride when they were both working in a bar in Sheffield.

Mr Timings-Thompson was applying for jobs and got a graduate job with Wates where he learnt about the construction industry but was also tasked with engaging with social enterprises.

He became really interested in social enterprises and felt he could fill a gap with his own company. He approached Mr McBride because he felt he had a lot of business acumen and they realised they were a natural match.

Mr Timings-Thompson became a Spark scholar after he learnt he could apply for the scheme as a recent alumn. Spark is the name for the business start-up service based in the University of Leeds Career Centre.

Social enterprises are businesses that make a profit – unlike a charity. “We operate a traditional business model but commit profits to achieve a social goal,” said Mr Timings-Thompson.

“We work with third party organisations such as those who help ex-offenders to fund qualifications or offer workshops that help them build their CVs and interview techniques.”

The qualification most people have to have in the construction industry is the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card which indicates those individuals have appropriate training.

Attending the course to get the CSCS card can cost around £300 so We are Social Enterprise Recruitment funds the training for them.

“I don’t mind if they find employment elsewhere,” said Mr Timings-Thompson. “Just as long as it helps them on their way.

“We like to work with like-minded companies that are socially and community orientated. We also enjoy working with local companies to create employment opportunities for local people.”

We Are Social Enterprise Recruitment has made £4.5m in revenue since it formed in late 2018 and said it has placed more than 500 individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds into roles.

For every £1 spent with the business, it has generated £1.95 worth of social value.

Using the national TOMS (themes, outcomes and measures) calculator, a framework for measuring social value, the company said it has generated a total of £8.6m in social value.

Professor Nick Plant, deputy vice chancellor of research and innovation at the University of Leeds, who nominated Mr Timings-Thompson for the Forbes list, said: “Lyndon is a shining example of what people can achieve if they have the right ideas and ambition.”