We are excited to announce that Step2Skills, Hertfordshire's premier adult community learning and employment support service, is now part of Hertfordshire Futures. This transition marks a significant milestone in an ongoing commitment to providing comprehensive support and opportunities for adults across the county. 

Step2Skills has a long-standing reputation for helping individuals overcome barriers to education and employment, including low skills, learning or physical disabilities, and mental health challenges. By integrating with Hertfordshire Futures, the aim is to enhance the services and reach even more residents in need of support. 

Under Hertfordshire Futures, Step2Skills will continue to offer a wide range of courses and employment support services designed to empower individuals and improve their quality of life. The integration will also enhance additional resources and expertise, ensuring that all programmes remain innovative and effective. 

The variety of combined offerings gives a wide range of options for those searching to increase their employability and opportunities to progress in their chosen careers: 

• Connect to Work – Helping residents with disabilities, those with health conditions and people with complex barriers to employment, to find sustainable work. 

• Adult Skills Fund- developing essential skills for employment, further education and personal growth 

• Skills Bootcamps – enabling residents to train in new industries or progress in work 

• UK Shared Prosperity – including Hertfordshire Opportunities and HOP – supporting employers to recruit and retain staff, address skills shortage and developing HOP   the premier gateway in Hertfordshire to explore career opportunities. 

• Careers and Enterprise Company – delivery of our Careers Hubs and strategic careers education support to the education sector 

• Sector Focused Skills programmes including Retrofit Opportunities, Construction Hubs 
• Skills Leadership – collaboration with stakeholders to ensure delivery of objectives through our suite of strategies including Hertfordshire Skills and Employment Strategy, Apprenticeship Growth and Adult Skills Strategy 

Caroline Cartwright, Hertfordshire Futures Head of Skills said: "The alignment of Step2Skills and Hertfordshire Futures will ensure connectivity across our skills, careers and employment programmes enabling individuals and employers to reach their potential, drive productivity and contribute to the success and growth of the Hertfordshire economy. 

Our programmes include supporting those who find the jobs market difficult to access, increasing the levels of technical and vocational training particularly within our growth sectors, ensuring our education sector has the support needed to implement high-quality careers guidance to help young people  make informed decisions about their future and finally supporting our employers to drive improvements and increase productivity through a workforce that is skilled to tackle the demands of the future. 

Chantal Lommel, Step2Skills Head of Service said: “Step2Skills and Hertfordshire Futures have been working together to ensure that Hertfordshire residents have opportunities to engage with learning or gain employment, regardless of their starting point. The integration of our services is a fantastic way forward and will also allow us to develop greater cohesion in the design of future adult skills provision and in the way we communicate with Hertfordshire residents and employers.” 

We look forward to this new chapter and the positive impact it will have on our community. Together, we will continue to build a brighter future for all residents of Hertfordshire.