Jessica O'ConnorSenior leaders from Yorkshire Building Society, including chief executive Susan Allen, have volunteered at FareShare Yorkshire’s Leeds hub to gain first-hand insight into how the charity’s work is helping people move closer to sustained employment.
The visit forms part of Yorkshire Building Society’s partnership with FareShare UK, which funds the Building Skills for the Future programme.
The initiative provides practical workplace training and accredited qualifications – such as food hygiene and manual handling – alongside CV development and interview coaching to help participants gain skills and confidence to enter or re-enter work.
Launched in December 2023, the programme has supported more than 1,000 people across Yorkshire, Merseyside, London, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
So far, 105 participants have progressed into paid employment, with many others gaining recognised qualifications and work experience.
Yorkshire Building Society has raised over £700,000 towards the initiative and aims to surpass £1m by June 2026.
Around 500 employees have also volunteered in a range of roles, from supporting warehouse operations and supermarket food drives to delivering workshops on job searching and financial wellbeing.
During the Leeds visit, senior leaders took part in warehouse activities alongside volunteers and participants, preparing food supplies for distribution to local organisations.
Susan Allen, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Volunteering at FareShare Yorkshire was incredibly inspiring. Seeing first-hand the impact FareShare is making in communities across the UK brought to life the importance of our partnership.
“Around 500 Yorkshire Building Society colleagues have volunteered their time to support the partnership in many ways, from supporting FareShare’s warehouse operations, manning food collections at supermarkets and running and taking part in fundraising events. It is wonderful to see how their efforts directly support people in communities up and down the UK.
“Over a thousand people have already benefitted from the Building Skills for the Future programme. As well as improving important employability skills, it’s helping people improve their financial resilience and supporting them to build a better future.”
Jonathan Williams, chief executive officer at FareShare Yorkshire, added: “We were delighted to welcome the executive team from Yorkshire Building Society to our Leeds hub to see the Building Skills for the Future programme in action.
“Our employability programmes support people who may be vulnerable into good, sustainable work, helping to maximise their strengths, overcome barriers to employment and take advantage of opportunities that change lives. The partnership with Yorkshire Building Society is making a vital contribution to these programmes and we’re making good progress towards our goal to support 2,500 people through the Building Skills for the Future programme by 2026.
“Through working at FareShare, participants help deliver much needed surplus food to people and communities in need. This meaningful work sees participants help strengthen their local communities while creating clear paths into employment for themselves and lift themselves out of financial hardship.”
