Press Enter to search

Community

Fort Kinnaird working hard for Edinburgh

From helping school children boost their reading skills to fundraising for local causes, Fort Kinnaird keeps the community at its heart. That’s why we’re committed to working with our neighbours to make a real difference in people’s lives.

We’ve recently teamed up with independent economics consultancy Regeneris to measure the impact Fort Kinnaird is having on Newcraighall, Edinburgh and beyond, and we’re delighted to now share the findings of our research. Read the full review in out Sustainability Report or learn more about some of our favourite projects below.

Recruitment and Skills Centre

We’re excited to be celebrating the fifth anniversary of our Recruitment & Skills Centre (RSC). Since 2013, the RSC has helped over 3,200 people into employment and supported the training of over 2,100 people. In fact, Fort Kinnaird supports one retail job in every 20 and one job in every 200 across Edinburgh – a number we’re extremely proud of.

A recent visit by pupils from Dalkeith High School (pictured above) exemplified how effectively the RSC connects local people with prospective employers. The pupils, who were taking part in a careers and skills workshop on the day, were introduced to a retailer at Fort Kinnaird interested in potential recruitment. After an impromptu preparatory session by an RSC Skills advisor, nine pupils were interviewed by the retailer, with six pupils finding work – a great result.

Bright Lights: Starting Out in Retail

In addition to working with local partners to support the RSC, we’ve also introduced our very own initiative: The Bright Lights: Starting Out in Retail programme. The initiative equips applicants with the skills and confidence they need for future employment and is aimed at local people aged 16 -25. The programme lasts for five weeks and includes various skills-based training and valuable on the job experience.  In 2017 all 12 participants in the programme secured employment from their work placement right here at Fort Kinnaird.

Young Readers Programme

Reading is a vital part of growing up for children. But sometimes younger girls and boys can find the task difficult and daunting. That’s why we introduced our award winning Young Readers Programme with the National Literacy Trust. Since 2012, we’ve invited over 1,200 young children from local primary schools to ensure we’re doing our bit to nurture a love of reading and improve young readers’ literacy skills.

Our staff work hard to make Fort Kinnaird a great place to be, and we’re delighted our visitors rate the centre team and store staff 4.6 out of 5. Taking the lead on great service is our Centre Director Liam Smith – he was awarded the Shopping Centre Manager of the Year at the 2016 and 2017 SCEPTRE Awards. You can’t get much better than that!

Fort Kinnaird by numbers

  • Providing over 2,000 jobs for the local area.
  • Contributing £53m to Edinburgh’s economy annually (GVA added).
  • We’ve trained 28 apprentices in 2017, helping them to learn whilst they earned.
  • One in 20 retail jobs in Edinburgh is supported by Fort Kinnaird
  • We’ve raised £99,000+ for charitable causes since 2010 thanks to the generosity of our visitors and centre staff.
  • We’ve invested over £159,000 into the community since 2015.

Share

Newsletter Sign Up

Sign up for the latest updates on what’s happening at Fort Kinnaird. What’s on, offers and what’s new, hear it here first.

Sign Up

More from our Community

Meet your Centre Manager

Park up – a new sculpture at Fort Kinnaird

Edinburgh dementia group creates memories to treasure forever

Little learners