The Progress Group generates over thirty-eight million pounds of social value

Leading education and training specialists, The Progress Group, are on a mission to change lives through the power of education and training. Underpinning this mission is understanding the value of the outcomes and impacts they have, and the extent to which they have transformed lives.

For the past three years The Progress Group have commissioned the services of The Connectives, to independently audit and analyse the interventions and outcomes of the organisation’s combined activities and quantifying these using the Social Return on Investment methodology. This gives an independent evaluation into each of the Group’s businesses and how they are achieving their purpose.

The results are nothing short of incredible.

Between April 2021 – March 2022, The Progress Group generated £38,102,368 of social value across all business units. They saved the public purse over £16,052,932 via their support helping to prevent young people from becoming NEET, getting individuals back into work and working with offenders to help rehabilitate them via their prison education programme to name just a few. Perhaps the most incredible value is the £4.09 of social value generated for every £1 spent across the organisation, meaning that for every £1 invested in one of their services, The Progress Group are collectively producing £4.09 in value.

The Progress Group CEO, Jayne Worthington said:

“We have always known that we make a significant difference to people’s lives through each of our education and training businesses, but each year when we received our social accounts, I was blown away. Not only are we transforming the lives of the people we work with, but we are also supporting communities and generating significant savings for the public purse.

“I am passionate about our purpose; it’s why we exist and ingrained in our DNA. But seeing incredible impacts like these in black and white is totally game changing. It reminds me of the importance of what we do, from supporting some of the most vulnerable young people who simply cannot thrive in mainstream schooling at Progress Schools, to supporting businesses to recruit, train and retain their best talent; each of our businesses play a vital role in servicing their respective sectors and for that, I am immensely proud.”

The Progress Group is made up of five businesses who work across multiple sectors to support those aged 11+. From impartial careers education, information, advice, and guidance via Progress Careers, to supporting those who are out of work or on a reduced income to get a job or climb the career ladder via Complete Skills Solutions, The Progress Group offer a comprehensive education and training offer to tens of thousands of individuals and thousands of businesses each year. In recent years, they have acquired multi-award-winning eLearning training provider Grey Matter Learning and more recently specialist training provider for education and children’s services AC Education who are leading the way in delivering high-quality, agile, and accessible training solutions for the social care and education sectors.

To read the full social impact report, click here.