Complete Skills Solutions announce new partnership with Community Shop supporting thousands of NW residents 

Adult education training provider, Complete Skills Solutions are set to partner with award-winning social enterprise Community Shop, to provide a range of training opportunities to their members, helping to bolster economic prosperity across the Liverpool City Region.  

The new partnership will see Complete Skills Solutions deliver a variety of programmes to existing and new members of Community Shop across their three sites in Liverpool, enabling members to access fully funded training to help them gain new skills and qualifications with the aim of supporting them back into work. The announcement comes just days after the government’s Spring budget, which placed economic activity for those who can work high on the agenda to support overall economic growth.  

Community Shop, which is part of the Company Shop Group (themselves part of Biffa), already supports tens of thousands of individuals and families throughout the country through their UK network of Community Shops. The Community Shops are powered by donated surplus food from a range of partners.

Each Community Shop has three distinct areas, working together to achieve incredible results. Firstly, the Community Store provides families on the cusp of food poverty with access to groceries at deeply discounted prices. Secondly, the Community Kitchen offers a welcoming and safe place for individuals and families to enjoy a nutritious meal at a low cost. Finally, through the Community Hub, individuals can access life-changing training and development, and this is where Complete Skills Solutions will provide their industry-leading, accredited and fully-funded training to individuals (subject to eligibility).  

Connected Communities will enable participants to develop themselves whilst having a positive, lasting impact on their community. Those looking to move into employment can enroll onto Learn to Earn, connecting learners to jobs via short, sector-specific courses in the likes of barbering or warehousing, while those looking to pursue their ambition to work for themselves can sign up to Be Your Own Boss, which is designed to equip individuals with the fundamentals to set-up their own business. 

Both organisations have strong routes in driving social mobility through their services, and by combining forces, their reach and impact will only become greater. 

Talking of the new strategic partnership, Managing Director of Complete Skills Solutions Ian Green said: 

“Community Shop believes in making a difference together by doing things differently, and this is a commitment that resonates with the values and purpose of Complete Skills Solutions. Our shared desire to support vulnerable individuals by equipping them with the knowledge, skills and qualifications needed to get a new or better job is what makes this partnership so special, as we are both powered by the desire to change lives. 

“The work that Community Shop is doing is exceptional, and it’s brilliant to see how they are benefitting so many individuals who are in need. We hope that by enhancing their training offer to include accredited qualifications, those individuals are further benefitted by arming them with the transferable employability skills, combined with the sector-specific knowledge that they need to flourish in the workplace. This is all about supporting our local communities to do more and be more through the power of training.” 

Community Shop Executive Chair, Gary Stott, said: 

“Through the power of partnerships, with leading supermarkets and much-loved brands, we’ve been able to deliver an incredible impact in so many communities already.

“We now want to apply that partnership model further to give our members access to high-quality training, designed to provide skills and qualifications that will enable them to work and flourish in employment.  

“I am incredibly excited to be working alongside Complete Skills Solutions to provide an even better service to our thousands of members across the Liverpool City Region and I look forward to seeing the long-term impact of this partnership.” 

The first course will commence in March in Kirkdale, Liverpool before being extended to Community Shop’s sites in Halton and Beechwood in the coming months.