Accenture commits £150 million to education, training and skills initiatives over next three years to equip people around the world for work in the digital age

Commitment includes company’s Skills to Succeed goal to equip more than 3 million people with job and entrepreneurial skills by 2020

LONDON; May 24, 2018 – Supporting its vision to improve the way the world works and lives, Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is committing £150 million (US$200 million) over the next three years to help equip people around the world with job skills for the digital age. Accenture’s commitment will help support Skills to Succeed, Tech4Good, Accenture Development Partnerships and related Accenture initiatives.

“We know that the digital economy offers tremendous opportunity for growth, but the benefits must be realised as part of an inclusive society where everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential,” said Olly Benzecry, chairman and managing director for Accenture in the U.K. and Ireland. “This commitment reflects our belief that businesses, in collaboration with government and the third sector, have a responsibility to help ensure that people from all backgrounds are able to acquire the digital skills required to thrive in the future workplace.”

The company’s Skills to Succeed initiative advances employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, leveraging digital innovation to help close employment gaps at scale. Together with a network of nonprofits and other ecosystem partners, Accenture has since 2010 equipped more than 2.2 million people with the skills to get a job or build a business, with a goal of equipping a total of more than 3 million people by 2020. Examples of Accenture’s Skills to Succeed initiatives in the UK include:

• Establishing a Digital Skills programme to offer free courses to young people not in education, employment or training; entrepreneurs; people returning to work after an extended career break; and those looking to re-skill. Since this January, approximately 40,000 people have already enrolled in the programme, which features digital experts from across Accenture and provides animated bite-sized videos and quizzes as well as opportunities for social collaboration with other learners.
• Participating in Movement to Work, the cross-sector group of organisations offering work experience and training opportunities to provide young people with a path to entry-level jobs. Since 2014, the company has teamed with Movement to Work to provide vocational training positions at Accenture for more than 700 programme participants, focusing on technology and digital skills.
• Offering free access to Accenture’s Skills to Succeed Academy, a digital training programme designed to build key employability skills and confidence through character-based learning that includes gamification, simulations, virtual coaches, videos and quizzes. The Academy is available through JobCentres and charities nationwide and to date has helped more than 60,000 people develop new skills to get a job.

Accenture’s Tech4Good projects use advanced technologies to help solve critical challenges facing business and society. For instance, the company collaborated with The Grameen Foundation India, using technologies from AI to augmented reality, to help disadvantaged people improve their financial literacy to enhance their financial and social well-being. In collaboration with Club Egalité, Accenture Labs in Sophia Antipolis, France, is developing a virtual-reality game that helps teen students explore future-proof jobs and develop critical skills for the digital economy, with the goal of encouraging an interest in STEM careers.

Accenture Development Partnerships works across government, business and civil society, applying business and technology solutions to build capacity and strengthen programs for development organizations around the globe. For example, Accenture collaborated with the Spanish Ministry of Employment and a consortium of nonprofit partners and corporations in 2013 to create Emplea+, an online program that helps marginalized individuals develop technical, digital and soft skills needed for employment.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 442,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.