Social Enterprise
Drugtrain is a Social Enterprise (not for profit) business driven by a social purpose. DrugTrain’s purpose is to improve the quality of life of people with drug and alcohol problems, families and communities by providing innovative training in the substance misuse field.
The government defines social enterprises as "businesses with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners." DrugTrain is a wholly owned subsidiary of a charity, BADAS registered charity number 1097299. Any surplus generated by DrugTrain’s trading activities is used by the charity to offer services and support to individuals and communities adversely affected by substances. We are also a member of VC Train, a regional training consortium.
The pioneers of social enterprise can be traced as far back to the 1840s, at least, in Rochdale, where a workers' co-operative was set up to provide high quality affordable food in response to factory conditions that were considered to be exploitative. Well known examples of social enterprises include The Big Issue, Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen, and the fair-trade chocolate company Divine Chocolate.
