A pioneering partnership between Yorkshire Building Society and food redistribution charity FareShare is celebrating helping more than 1,000 people improve their employability prospects, with over a hundred going on to secure work.
Launched in December 2023, the Building Skills for the Future programme has already helped participants across the UK, including in Yorkshire, Merseyside, London, Bristol, Milton Keynes, Edinburgh, and Cardiff, gain valuable skills, qualifications, and confidence to move closer to employment. To date, 105 participants have secured paid work, and hundreds more have gained new skills and qualifications.
Funded by Yorkshire Building Society and delivered by FareShare’s network partners, Building Skills for the Future offers tailored support to help people prepare for work, including warehouse and kitchen work experience, Food Hygiene and Manual Handling accreditations, and CV and interview workshops. Participants are referred through FareShare’s network of over 8,000 charity partners and supported into employment opportunities within the food industry and beyond.
Susan Allen, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society said: “Our partnership with FareShare helps people improve their financial resilience by supporting them to develop important skills and gain work experience. Reaching 1,000 people through the Building Skills for the Future Programme is a huge achievement.
“Over and above building skills, this programme is about restoring confidence, and helping people move towards financial independence. As a mutual, our purpose is to provide real help with real life, and this partnership is doing just that.”
Gareth Batty, Director of Network at FareShare added: “Our employability programmes support people who may be vulnerable into good, sustainable work, helping to address one of the root causes of poverty. The services offered help individuals maximise their strengths, overcome barriers to employment and take advantage of opportunities that can transform lives. These opportunities will be instrumental not only in improving outcomes for individuals, but also in helping FareShare get more good-to-eat surplus food to people. Our partnership with Yorkshire Building Society is making a vital contribution to our employability programme and to have reached the milestone of supporting 1,000 people through the programmes is a huge achievement, putting us on track to support 2,500 people by 2026.”
One participant shared: "I was struggling financially and mentally, after leaving my job of 13 years. Without money you don't eat, you don't clothe yourself and you don't look after yourself properly. A job puts food on the table and it puts a roof over your head. Last year I didn't have any suitable clothes; it sounds awful, but that’s where I was. I'm slowly trying to build myself up again and get back on track. This is why this scheme with FareShare is really important to me. To be back in a work environment again and feel useful, after a period of not being able to be social, felt good. It’s nice to put a pair of steel toe cap boots on again and do a job."
Yorkshire Building Society has already raised over £700,000 to fund the programme and aims to raise over £1 million by June 2026. Alongside the employability programme, the partnership also funds an outreach initiative offering free, face-to-face workshops on job searching and financial wellbeing.
