5 Million Futures

Building better futures

5 Million Futures

Millions of people around the world are held back from achieving their full potential.

Investing in education and skills is the answer. It is the foundation of opportunity and progress and creates better futures for all.

Since 2016, Deloitte has focused on helping people in the UK overcome barriers to education and employment through our 5 Million Futures social impact strategy. Working with schools and charities, we mobilise our people through volunteering, fundraising and pro bono work to build better futures throughout the UK.

In the year ending 31 May 2023, over 638,000 people benefitted from our 5 Million Futures programmes, with professionals across our firm volunteering more than 52,000 hours of their time. We support partners both at a national level and locally with each of our regional offices working with a charity whose work is aligned with our 5 Million Futures goals.

5 Million Futures supports Deloitte’s global WorldClass ambition to reach 100 million people by 2030.

Read the Deloitte Commitment to Responsible Business Practice Statement.

Our purpose in action

We believe we make the greatest societal impact when we empower our professionals to use their skills and experience to help people in three areas: skills, education and employability. The sections below highlight some of our 5 Million Futures programmes under each, delivered in collaboration with our charity and school partners.

Skills Education Employability

Closing the digital divide

We are helping charities and individuals thrive in an increasingly virtual world by building digital skills, making connections, and providing access to technology.

Our Deloitte Digital Connect programme, delivered in collaboration with CAST, brings together over 30 charities per cohort - including Deloitte’s 5 Million Futures charity partners, and aims to help them scale their impact by building digital capacity and capability within their organisations.

Developed in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the UK’s third sector, the programme connects charities with expertise and advice, helping them build a peer community through mentoring, group coaching calls, workshops, masterclasses, and access to digital resources.

We have also committed to giving 5,000 reconditioned Deloitte laptops a year to UK schools and charities. As of September 2022, we had donated nearly 7,000 laptops.

Partnerships

National partners Office partners School partners Sustainability partners

In support of our WorldClass ambition to improve 100 million futures globally by 2030, we focus on initiatives and solutions which draw on our people’s skills to build better futures across the UK. We empower our professionals to use their skills and experience to help people in three areas: skills, education and employability.

Explore our national partnerships below.

National Education partners

Action Tutoring

Before the pandemic, disadvantaged students were on average, 18 months behind their more advantaged peers by the end of secondary school. The pandemic worsened this gap. Action Tutoring supports these young people to achieve academically by partnering them with volunteer tutors. Deloitte volunteers are tutoring primary and secondary school students in maths and English weekly over a school term. Not only does this regular support improve subject knowledge but it also increases confidence and study skills, whilst enabling our people to use and develop their communication, organisational and relationship skills.

Governors for Schools

Governors for Schools finds, places, and supports skilled volunteers as governors and trustees on school and academy boards. Deloitte is supporting strong and sustainable school leadership by engaging our people to become school governors, bringing their skills and expertise to the table and improving education for children. In turn, Governors for Schools provides access to high-quality, curated learning and skills development offering a great professional and personal development opportunity to our people.

Chapter One

It all starts with literacy. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are not getting the opportunities they need to learn to read well and this can throw their whole life off track, and make it impossible to reach their full potential. But with the right support, at the right time, reading has the power to transform their futures – no matter their circumstances today. Chapter One gives children 1:1 reading support at the time when they need it the most by connecting schools with corporate volunteers. A team of Deloitte volunteers read and play word games online for 30 minutes a week with struggling 5- 7-year-olds in five Doncaster schools over the bespoke Chapter One platform, helping to build reading confidence and self-belief in children who might otherwise slip through the cracks.

Teach First

Where you’re from shouldn’t determine where you’re going. Yet too often it does. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds don’t start with the same chances and the inequality continues throughout childhood. It’s not their fault and it isn’t fair. Teach First is fighting to make our education system work for every child by getting great teachers and brilliant leaders into schools serving disadvantaged communities where they can make a lasting difference. Since 2006, Deloitte has supported Teach First by donating more than £2 million, supporting 1,352 teachers and leaders, and impacting 414,700 pupils to date. Deloitte is currently working with Teach First to support strong and sustainable school leadership by funding the delivery of its National Professional Qualification, which supports teachers into leadership roles in the schools facing the biggest challenges.

The Access Project

Disadvantaged young people are five times less likely to go to a top university in comparison to more advantaged students, according to the Department for Education. The Access Project's mission is to address this. Deloitte and The Access Project work with students from these backgrounds to help them access top universities through tutoring and mentoring. Deloitte volunteers are helping young people with their GCSEs and A-Levels for an hour every week during the school year. This extra support not only helps to improve a student’s grades but also provides them with a role model, whilst helping our people to use and develop their communication, organisational and relationship skills. We know that through our joint efforts students on the programme are more than twice as likely as similarly disadvantaged students to attend top universities.

National Inclusion partners

Blueprint for All

Blueprint for All believes that race, ethnicity, or background should not limit what one can achieve in life. As part of our Black Action Plan and with a focus on equality of opportunity, Deloitte is supporting with Blueprint for All through pro bono, volunteering and fundraising. Together, we have also developed a new bursary scheme designed for students of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic heritage and from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, to support their ambitions in carving out a successful future.

Just Like Us

Deloitte has partnered with Just Like Us, a charity focused on promoting LGBTQ+ education and inclusion in schools, and on empowering young LGBTQ+ people. Our partnership supports their Ambassador Programme, which recruits, trains, and supports LGBTQ+ ambassadors aged 18-25 to deliver inspiring and educational school sessions which champion LGBTQ+ equality. The programme also helps ambassadors develop their skills and confidence, increasing employability.

Scope

Scope’s vision is to achieve a society where all disabled people enjoy equality and fairness. Scope provides practical advice and emotional support whenever people need them most. They do this through Scope’s helpline, which is an online community, with a range of employment and child sleep services, community engagement programmes, partnerships and more.

National Project partners

Be the Business

Be the Business is an independent, not-for-profit organisation, with a singular goal: to help business owners and leaders improve the performance and productivity of their business for the health of the UK’s economy. Deloitte works with Be the Business to provide founders of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) a Deloitte mentor to support their businesses to grow and scale. Deloitte mentors use their business skills and experience to support these businesses.

Business in the Community

Business in the Community (BITC) is one of the oldest and largest business-led membership organisations dedicated to responsible business. BITC inspires, engages, and challenges their members to create a skilled inclusive workforce by building thriving communities in which to live. Their vision is for the UK to lead the world in responsible business practices. Deloitte works with BITC delivering career coaching and employability skills sessions to members of the community.

CAST

CAST is a charity helping organisations use digital for social good. Deloitte and CAST are working together to deliver Deloitte Digital Connect, a new initiative to help charities close the digital divide. Digital Connect connects charities with expertise, advice, and a network to support their digital development to enhance their community impact.

TaxAid

TaxAid and TaxAid for Older People is a charity that helps people on low incomes when they get into difficulties with their tax affairs. We’re proud that the UK Tax and Legal practice have been able to provide TaxAid with much-needed support for a number of years. Our goal is to be the leading UK corporate social responsibility programme for the tax profession, and this partnership provides an opportunity for Our Tax and Legal professionals at all levels to give back to society.



Stories of our impact

Article

5 Million Futures: the power of collaboration

Video

Tech support to bridge the digital divide

Article

Deloitte volunteers are helping to change futures

Press release

Schools benefit as nearly 7,000 Deloitte laptops get second lease of life

Press release

Deloitte’s people choose new charity partnerships to make an impact that matters

Press relese

Deloitte invites charities to apply for digital development programme

Podcast

Can a business make money and do good at the same time?

Podcast

How do you start a movement?

Video

Daniel, student from Ada College, is now an Analyst at Deloitte UK thanks to #DigitalSkills

Article

Digital skills training for people with learning difficulties and autism

Article

“Pride means being unabashedly who you are”

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The big catch up in education

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Will Mackintosh - 15 years of partnership with teach first | Deloitte UK

Article

Put your mind to it

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Supporting the UK's most disadvantaged women to reach their potential

Article

What a difference a month makes

Article

Sharnelle's story

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