Sky is harnessing the power of TV, creativity and sports to help youngsters unlock their potential. In doing so, it is also nurturing the skills of those who may help its business to thrive in the future.
At the heart of Sky’s efforts is the Sky academy, a set of five initiatives delivered across the UK and Ireland, designed to help one million young people by 2020.
Developed in partnership with teachers and drawing on the passion and expertise of employees, its five initiatives are: Sky Sports living for sport, skills studios, careers lab, starting out and scholarships. Learning experiences are tailored for young people of all ages.
Sky is making the most of its position as a household name in 20m European homes to raise awareness of the academy and encourage people to sign up. Once enrolled, students are offered the opportunity to build skills including team work, communication, self-belief, planning, creativity and resilience – skills that employers often say are lacking at interview.
Through every activity, Sky shares its knowledge and experience in business, media and technology. For example, students at the skills studios make use of the company’s state-of-the-art equipment to compile news reports on subjects they are studying at school.
The Sky academy reached more than 150,000 people in its first 18 months. Importantly, Sky has gone beyond counting student numbers to understand the real impact on participants, and how this affects customers’ perceptions of its brand.
Through research conducted with an independent agency, Chrysalis, it discovered that within the academy’s first year, 67% of skills studios students believed they had improved in at least one life skill. Meanwhile, around 85% of customers felt more strongly about the Sky brand once they knew about the academy’s efforts.
