The Edinburgh-based social enterprise aims to create up to 30 jobs in the city over the next two years. The centre, situated in Glasgow’s Enterprise Park, will offer a two-year apprenticeship course for people aged 16-24, covering various disciplines including networking, cybersecurity, administration, and marketing.

Founder and CEO Ian Gray said: “We’re a training centre delivering services for the third sector and local government organisations.

“We kept hearing from young people that the Kickstart scheme gave them nothing of real benefit in the end so that’s why we looked at a two-year programme, incorporating a variety of disciplines in the first year and then a more specialised approach in year two.

“There will be a range of induction-style classes covering topics from CV writing to health and safety and money management. Other modules will focus on areas such as networking, wires and plyers, cyber security, administration and marketing.

“The G45 postcode in Glasgow is an area of particular deprivation with employability issues for young people and a lack of opportunity. That was key to our decision in moving to that area as it hits the values and vision of our organisation helping local people in the community.”

The company aims to retain 50% of the 25 people expected to complete the two-year course, with successful participants potentially becoming mentors for new trainees.

Mr Gray added: “The funding of £250,000 from Social Investment Scotland, along with the wider support of social enterprise within Scotland, has been key to us delivering on this project.

“This has been an aspiration for some time and will allow us to deliver community benefit to localised areas in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. Our growth has been through one of the most challenging times we have ever known and that has been down to the drive and tenacity of people we have within the business.

“We see the difference we can make to communities and that’s what keeps us striving to hit our goals. The aim is to see 25 people complete the two-year course and I’d like to retain around 50 per cent of those within the business.

“We pride ourselves on being a social enterprise which supplies printing and photocopying technology with transparency at a fair price while creating employability opportunities without barriers. The greater our success the more jobs we will create.

“The aim is to have the young people front and centre, while we are in the background shadowing them. They will be taught about our products and services and they become the link to prospective clients, using their new skills to communicate with the people coming in to see us who have a requirement for one of our products or services. Through that comes confidence and they can then continue their progress by delivering that service and managing a client contract themselves.”

Chris Jamieson, head of investment at SIS, added: “It’s great to be supporting Social Print and Copy with its expansion, not only into a new city, but with growing its team too.

“The social enterprise is creating valuable apprenticeship opportunities for young people in the local community and will play an important role in supporting the future careers of its new recruits.”