Multi-award-winning social enterprise and partners launch the UK’s largest* social outcomes partnership with up to 22 local authorities.
Bradford Children and Families Trust today announces a landmark partnership with The Skill Mill, a multi-award-winning social enterprise, Bridges Outcomes Partnerships (BOP), a not-for-profit social enterprise, and with the Youth Endowment Fund, a charity focused on preventing young people from becoming involved in violence, to tackle youth reoffending. The partnership began in March 2026.
The initiative provides young ex-offenders with paid employment working on local environmental projects, along with personalised support and training to help them build better, brighter futures. The programme will operate across up to 22 local authorities in England and Wales and is expected to support up to 352 young people involved in the criminal justice system, a group which typically faces significant barriers to gaining employment and a high reoffending rate.
The Skill Mill programme will provide participants with practical skills and employment, alongside improved access to future employment opportunities, as well as develop their self-confidence and sense of responsibility. At the same time, the programme will deliver tangible benefits to their local communities and the environment. Participants’ work at The Skill Mill is commissioned by a range of clients, including local authorities, businesses and corporates, and non-profit organisations.
The partnership’s innovative outcomes-based approach – whereby The Skill Mill can adjust its delivery in real-time according to impact data and ongoing learning – enables the programme to achieve meaningful, measurable improvement to people’s lives. In this model, outcomes funders (the participating local authorities) pay for outcomes only once they have been achieved, ensuring value for money and clear accountability.
The programme will also be supported by the Youth Endowment Fund, a charity funded by the Home Office, which will be funding a randomised control trial evaluation of the programme; and by The Skill Mill’s clients through the social enterprise’s sales income.
Flexible working capital to enable programme delivery is provided to The Skill Mill by social investors coordinated by Bridges Outcomes Partnerships. BOP also provides programme development, coordination support, and impact management expertise.
David Parks OBE, Managing Director of The Skill Mill, said:
“This partnership is about giving young people a genuine second chance, through paid work, trusted relationships and providing them with the skills to build themselves a brighter future. By combining real jobs on environmental projects with personalised support, we’re helping young people move away from reoffending while delivering visible benefits for local communities. We’re excited to be working alongside the local authorities, Bridges Outcomes Partnerships, commercial partners and the Youth Endowment Fund at this scale.”
Jake Grout-Smith, Assistant Director of Impact, Programmes and Partnerships at Youth Endowment Fund, said:
“Almost a third of young people in England and Wales who offend go on to do so again. Finding effective ways to prevent this means fewer victims, less strain on the justice system and better futures for young people vulnerable to involvement in crime. The Skill Mill programme has shown promise in reducing reoffending. Its expansion and evaluation give us an important opportunity to test its impact at scale and strengthen the evidence on employment programmes.”
Iciar Ania, Executive Director at Bridges Outcomes Partnerships said:
“We’re absolutely delighted to launch this new partnership, giving young people leaving the justice system a second chance.
Young ex‑offenders too often face fragmented support and uncertain futures; this partnership is an exciting example of how bringing together central government, private, and local authority funding can catalyse meaningful opportunities and measurable impact for young people across the country.”
Charlotte Ramsden, CEO of Bradford Children and Families Trust said:
“The Skill Mill initiative will be that turning point in the road to a brighter future for the children and young people in Bradford who are given access to this support. We know access to further education and employment is a key protective factor for children who don’t have the best start to their formative years and it will improve their life chances. Enhancing the opportunities for some of our most vulnerable children and young people to enter the world of work and training, to achieve positive change and raise aspirations is a commitment of Bradford’s Youth Justice Service and I’m delighted the Skill Mill partnership will further support this priority.”
*The Skill Mill is the largest social outcomes partnership in the UK by number of delivery areas.
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