The Guinness Partnership, one of England’s largest housing associations, has given Bristol students at Lansdown Park Academy the chance to develop life-changing skills.

The funding has enabled the Skills Builder Partnership, a global social enterprise, to work with the school to deliver their Accelerator programme.

The Accelerator programme supports schools and colleges to build their students’ essential skills alongside their academic achievements. These are highly transferable skills such as creativity, problem solving, and teamwork.

Teachers benefit from training and resources, and the programme supports schools to train an in-house expert (a Skills Leader) who can continue the strategy once the programme ends.

Research released by the Skills Builder Partnership, the Essential Skills Tracker 2024, shows:

Essential skills are strongly linked with increased wellbeing.
Ninety-eight per cent of teachers see essential skills as important for employment opportunities.
Ninety-two per cent of teachers believe essential skills are important for success in their career.
People with strong essential skills earn an average of 9-12 percent more a year.
Strong essential skills are highly related to high job and life satisfaction.

As part of their social responsibility commitment to Guinness, funding for the project was also supplied by Pretium Frameworks, who develop and manage specialist frameworks, on behalf of Contracting Authorities operating in the public sector across the UK.

Guinness is the Contracting Authority on the Asset and Property Management Consultancy (APMC) framework delivered by Pretium, which provides professional management and support for the delivery of asset maintenance and repairs services.

Eadaoin Kelly, Senior Community Partnership Manager at The Guinness Partnership said: “We believe in investing in our communities, and with almost 1,000 homes across the Bristol area this is a priority for us. The Accelerator programme will create valuable opportunities for young people to raise their potential and help them create the foundations for successful and fulfilling lives. We’re pleased to be able to support this important funding.”

Evelyn Haywood, Director of Education at Skills Builder said: “Every year, we have the privilege to work with schools and colleges who are making a commitment to building learners' essential skills. We continue to be incredibly grateful for the support of funding partners like The Guinness Partnership and Pretium Framework for subsidising programme costs and directly supporting schools and colleges to access the Skills Builder Accelerator programme. Through this work, we are able to work closely with teachers and leaders all over the UK to share practise, create plans, upskill staff and deliver life-changing opportunities to build essential skills."

Jessica John, Director of Pretium, said: “Social value is at the core of Pretium’s framework offer, and we work closely with our partner organisations to contribute positively to local communities. We’re delighted that the social value generated through the APMC framework has been used to support the Skills Builder Partnership, aiding in the development of important life skills for the next generation.”

This is the third year that Guinness has funded schools via the Accelerator programme and 3,215students have been supported to date, as part of our partnership with Skills Builder.