As 2024 comes to a close, we are reflecting on a year of shared progress, collaboration, and meaningful change. Skills Builder’s Impact Report 2024 shines a light on what has been achieved collectively—through partnerships with education, employment, and impact organisations around the world. It is a testament to the power of working together towards a shared mission: One day, everyone will build the essential skills to succeed.
This year, partners enabled nearly 1.85 million individuals to build essential skills. From schools and colleges to global businesses and community organisations, the Partnership's growing reach demonstrates the collective commitment to creating a future where essential skills are universal and lifelong.
Education: Transforming Classrooms, One Learner at a Time
Embedding essential skills in schools and colleges was where the Skills Builder Partnership’s journey began. From its roots in the UK to now spanning 22 countries, the collective impact on education institutions has been extraordinary, with each learner’s progress reinforcing the importance of this work.
- 833 schools and colleges, many of which achieved Skills Builder Awards.
- Over 187,000 learners participated in Accelerator programmes.
- 12,296 educators trained to champion essential skills.
It’s important to reflect that each of these statistics represents an individual journey towards essential skills success. Whether it is Al-Kawthar Secondary School in Beirut, where students have embraced the Universal Framework to build confidence and creativity, or Mid Calder Primary School in Scotland, where teachers are embedding essential skills into daily learning through collaborative activities and creative projects, the Partnership’s work is a global effort rooted in individual journeys.
As the reach of the Partnership grows, it becomes all the more important that Skills Leaders feel confident in delivering this mission. This year, 100% of Skills Leaders reported feeling prepared to deliver change across their institutions after training.
“It has been inspiring to see the Skills Builder approach and Universal Framework being taken to scale - having gone from just my classroom back in 2008, to classrooms across the world today.”
Tom Ravenscroft, CEO & Founder, Skills Builder Partnership
Impact Organisations: Expanding Opportunities for Lifelong Skills
Essential skills don’t just belong in classrooms or workplaces—they are crucial in every aspect of life. That’s why the Partnership collaborates with impact organisations worldwide, creating opportunities for individuals to build and practise these skills through activities like sports, creative arts, entrepreneurship, and youth programmes. These partnerships bring the Universal Framework to life, offering a structured approach to developing and measuring skills.
- 237 organisations joined as partners.
- 199 approved programmes achieved an Impact Level.
- Over 1.34 million opportunities delivered at Level 2+.
The commitment to continuous improvement is reflected in stories like Motivez, a member of the Impact Academy:
‘Phenomenal… working with a cohort of organisations, learning from best practices, and sharing ours.’
Similarly, organisations like Talk the Talk have achieved Impact Level 4 accreditation, highlighting their high-impact programmes:
‘The accreditation showcases the high-impact development our workshops deliver, reassuring our customers of their effectiveness.’
The systemic influence of these collaborations continues to grow. From working with NCS delivery partners to embedding essential skills across initiatives led by the Greater London Authority, the Partnership’s reach has expanded into new spaces, including youth justice and sports. Together, these organisations exemplify the power of Partnership, ensuring that essential skills development becomes a lifelong opportunity, one individual at a time.
Employment: Celebrating Employers Driving Essential Skills
Essential skills are the foundation of workplace success, and this year, employer partners have led the charge. From transforming hiring practices to developing their teams, they’ve embraced essential skills at every level. We’re proud to have worked alongside such forward-thinking organisations, united by a shared mission to put essential skills at the heart of what they do.
- 99 employers have worked with the Partnership to integrate the Universal Framework into their practices.
- 57 organisations worked towards Skills Builder Excellence Marks.
- Over 204,600 individuals participated in employer-led programmes, building the skills they need to thrive.
- 326 volunteers brought essential skills to life in schools through impactful sessions with learners.
Recent research underscores the importance of this work. The Careers & Enterprise Company’s study on career readiness and the Gatsby Foundation’s Good Career Guidance: The Next 10 Years both highlight the Universal Framework as a vital approach, helping young people and employees alike develop the skills that drive meaningful careers.
Employer partners like Amazon have embraced this approach:
‘The programme is extremely thorough and will be hugely beneficial for our apprentices… [it] covers all the essential skills they need to kick-start their career and be set up for success.’
Collaborations like these showcase the innovative ways employers are driving essential skills development. From Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP’s outreach programmes to tailored workforce solutions developed with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, the Partnership celebrates the creativity and dedication of its employer partners.
Looking Forward
As we look to the future, the Partnership is focused on scaling our work to reach more people in more places. Our efforts to build a truly global network are more ambitious than ever, with a growing emphasis on embedding essential skills across different countries and cultures. By sharing resources in more languages and collaborating with international partners, we are working to make essential skills universally accessible.
At the same time, we are evolving the Universal Framework that underpins everything we do. Since its launch in 2020, the Universal Framework has become a shared language for essential skills across more than 20 countries and over 900 partners. With the upcoming release of Universal Framework 2.0, we’re excited about this evolution—ensuring it remains adaptable, user-friendly, and relevant for years to come. This evolution has been guided by the invaluable insights and contributions of our partners, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who has participated in this process.
To all our partners: thank you for your dedication, innovation, and collaboration. Your contributions are the foundation of everything that has been achieved this year and the driving force behind the vision for the future. Together, we are building a world where essential skills are not just taught—they are embedded into education, employment, and life.
For a deeper look at the collective progress and the stories behind the numbers, we encourage you to explore the full Impact Report 2024. Discover how, through partnership, essential skills are becoming universal and lifelong.
Read the full Impact Report 2024 here.
