We hope your first month back after the New Year has gone well.

We have plenty of exciting news to share this month: the adoption of Skills Builder by the Careers & Enterprise Company, a compelling primary case study, a major milestone for the Skills Builder Hub, and exciting developments from employers and organisations as the Skills Builder Partnership continues to expand.

We also highlight a couple of new research pieces which link to Skills Builder from the CBI as well as Teach First and Education & Employers Charity.

We'll see you next month for more of the latest news about the growing Partnership. Wrap up warm!
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Partnering with The Careers & Enterprise Company

We’re delighted to share that The Careers & Enterprise Company will be joining with the Skills Builder Partnership as a strategic partner as we work towards our mission: ensuring everyone builds the essential skills to succeed.

We will be working closely to create and refine robust self-assessment tools that allow students to understand and track their progress against the Skills Builder Framework, supporting more consistent measurement and understanding of the development of the essential skills.

Learn more on our blog post

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Schools news

Since 2012, Curwen Primary School has been working with us to build the eight essential skills with their students, including running inspiring trips to employers to bring their skills learning to life. More recently, teachers have started to use the resources on the Skills Builder Hub, including our short video activities. We caught up with PSHE and Skills Lead Mubeena Sardar, to discuss the importance of making dedicated time to build essential skills.

See how Curwen Primary is teaching essential skills

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Skills Builder Hub news

We're thrilled to announce that the Skills Builder Hub is now in use by more than 3,000 teachers and youth leaders across the world! These users have access to a full range of skills-building resources for learners of all ages, including our short video activities, which require no preparation and are perfect for use during tutor time. The Hub also provides detailed teaching handbooks, skills stories and posters. Click below to set up a free account and get started!

Set up a free account on the Skills Builder Hub

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Employers news

We're continuing to develop close ties with our network of employer partners in 2019. This month, two exciting data and technology companies, IHS Markit and Tata Consultancy Services, are hosting students for the first time to give them a taste of the world of work. We're also excited that Exterion Media, a regular host to students in their London offices, are working with us to embed the Skills Builder Framework in their work experience programme. They see this as a great way to ensure consistent language across the business as they develop this work further.

See all of the employer partners we work with

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Organisations news

On the 22nd January we held our first forum for skills-building organisations, hosted by our partners Allen & Overy. It was fantastic to see all the different ways organisations like Potential Plus UK and the National Literacy Trust are integrating the Skills Builder Framework into their everyday work - as well as share experiences and best practice. We're also excited to welcome to the Partnership online careers education platforms Grofar and U-Explore, as well as Children's University, which promotes learning experiences outside the classroom. We're excited to see how they use the Framework to augment their fantastic work.

Download our free toolkit for skills-building organisations

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Skills Builder approach involved in research on primary careers learning

We’re pleased to see our work feeding into new research around career-related learning at primary level.Education and Employers Research, in collaboration with Teach First and AKO Foundation, have been examining the role of primary teachers and schools in preparing children for the future. We're pleased that several schools involved referenced the Skills Builder Framework as one of the ways they assessed and tracked progress when building skills for future success - as well as citing our programmes and activities as a core part of their enterprise-ready curriculum.

Read the research paper

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CBI Education and Skills Survey endorses the Skills Builder approach

Finally, we're thrilled that the CBI's annual Education and Skills Survey explicitly endorses the Skills Builder approach as having 'raised the bar' as a way of providing the skills education employers consistently report is so essential. Chapter 2 of the report now helps track employer attitudes and perceptions around the importance of broader skills - using the Skills Builder Framework language for the first time.

Read this year's Education and Skills survey from the CBI

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We're deeply grateful for all your support so far. Working together is by far the best way to effect real change - so please do continue to spread the word about the Skills Builder Partnership.