Heathrow Employment and Skills Academy’s commitment to essential skills development
Heathrow Employment and Skills Academy has achieved a Skills Builder Bronze Excellence Mark for their innovative outreach programmes. The award celebrates their dedication to equipping young people with the essential skills needed to thrive in the ever-evolving job market.
Building essential skills for the future of the workplace
The world of work is rapidly changing. Automation, AI, and remote work require a focus on essential skills like problem-solving, teamwork, and communication. These transferable skills are increasingly valued by employers, making them a critical component of careers education and outreach programmes.
The essential skills are those highly transferable skills which almost everyone needs to do almost any job. They are defined by the Skills Builder Partnership in the Universal Framework, backed by industry and years of research. They are Listening, Speaking, Creativity, Problem Solving, Aiming High, Staying Positive, Leadership and Teamwork.
Investing in future-focused outreach
Beyond social responsibility, many businesses are strategically investing in outreach programmes in moves to address this critical future need: a skilled, diverse and adaptable workforce. The Outreach Excellence Standards guide businesses to create opportunities for those in their local community to develop their essential skills.
Heathrow has taken a strategic approach to supporting its future talent pool, the airport and its local community. Through collaboration with Skills Builder Partnership, Heathrow’s experience of work and outreach programmes are introducing young people to various careers at the airport, particularly in engineering and technology. With the explicit focus on developing essential skills like teamwork and problem-solving, Heathrow is preparing participants for success in future potential roles at the global hub, gaining valuable experience and career exploration opportunities.
What are the Excellence Standards?
The Skills Builder Excellence Standards provide a powerful roadmap for businesses and organisations looking to develop a skilled workforce. They set clear guidelines for best practices across an entire business or team. Split across three key areas – Outreach, Recruitment, and Staff Development – the nine Excellence Standards offer a structured approach to building a strong talent pipeline, attracting top candidates, and fostering continuous learning. Excellence Marks accredit and recognise those standards, showcasing this commitment to skill development. These Marks are awarded at four levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum.
Evidencing excellence in outreach
“We are very proud to have received the Bronze Excellence Mark which is a testament to the commitment we have made to embed essential skills into all our outreach activities. We look forward to growing our partnership with Skills Builder to ensure continuous improvements in our activities,” said Poorvi Patel, Head of Education, Employment and Skills at Heathrow Employment and Skills Academy.
Investing in essential skills
Heathrow is proactively embedding essential skills throughout their outreach programmes, with facilitators and volunteers all trained. This ensures students understand the importance of these skills in all aspects of life, from the classroom to their future careers.
Real-world relevance
The innovative Heathrow Masterclasses and Heathrow Young Explorers bridge the theory-practice gap, bringing in 400 Heathrow and Team Heathrow colleagues from across the airport to share practical examples of how they use essential skills in their daily work. This not only generates student interest but also helps them to translate their own skills into a powerful skills-based CV.
Student engagement and prospects
Heathrow’s Skills Builder initiatives reach over 65 local schools, colleges, and universities and have consistently high student engagement. A local college, on a Skills Builder education programme, working toward a Gold Award, emphasises how the programme directly impacts students' futures,“we have seen the impact that building skills can have on [students'] career and higher education prospects.”
Empowering volunteers’ skills development
Heathrow recognises the crucial role volunteers play. By providing them with dedicated training on essential skills, they ensure volunteers can not only guide students but also enhance their own development.
Building a scalable skills-first approach
Heathrow demonstrates a commitment to a structured approach by aligning activities with specific steps in the Skills Builder framework, as evidenced in their accredited "Engineering Insights weeks" and integration into various programs like T-Levels and apprenticeships. This scalable approach using the Universal Framework allows them to adapt and expand their skills development initiatives effectively.
In action: How Heathrow’s building essential skills in their work experience and outreach programmes
1) Essential Skills Masterclasses
Heathrow and The Skills Builder Partnership offer Essential Skills Masterclass workshops for college students with additional learning needs. These sessions focus on essential skills development through the Skills Builder Framework.
- Students explore the Framework, practice skills through activities, and discuss career applications with Heathrow volunteers.
- Real-world Heathrow scenarios provide opportunities to apply essential skills in business challenges.
- Self-assessment at the beginning and end of each workshop tracks progress.
2) Heathrow Engineering Insights
This five-day programme inspires local 16-18 year olds in education to explore engineering careers. Participants gain firsthand experience of what it takes to deliver maintenance and engineering to over 500,000 different assets across the airport and the essential skills needed to do so.
- Interactive activities introduce essential skills and their use in real-world engineering scenarios.
- Mock interviews with Heathrow professionals help students talk about their essential skills and demonstrate examples of these.
- Students who complete the programme are encouraged to apply for the Engineering Apprenticeship.
This 2-hour in-school activity inspires students' interest in engineering and technology careers. Through challenges simulating real-world airport scenarios, students:
- Explore various engineering disciplines at Heathrow using practical coding and engineering challenges
- Practise and reflect on essential skills of problem solving, teamwork, speaking and listening through collaborative challenges.
This two-hour challenge for local Year 6 pupils builds interest in airport careers and sustainability. Through a teamwork challenge with support from Heathrow volunteers, they:
- Develop essential skills by using 3D modelling software to design sustainable transport solutions, practising communication, problem-solving, and teamwork.
- Explore career opportunities with volunteers showcasing the diverse airport roles, inspiring future career paths.
- Reflect on their essential skills through the Skills Passport provided after the session.
See essential skills take off in your business
Because the Skills Builder Framework and approach are used across education, training and the work, we are able to join up the complete journey for individuals building these essential skills throughout their lives. In the last year, more than 2.6 million opportunities to boost essential skills were delivered through the Skills Builder Partnership.
Learn more about the Skills Builder Partnership and how to implement a similar outreach programme in your community, or adapt an existing one to include an essential skills focus.
Schools and colleges can apply for a funded place on the Skills Builder Accelerator
education programme - currently open for applications.
