Powering Potential: How Our Strategic Impact Partnership with Morley Glass is Changing Lives

4 days ago
4 min read

Bridging the gap between education and employment takes more than good intentions; it takes partnership. At The PIECES Project CIC, we are a not-for-profit organisation unlocking the potential of young people through creativity, enterprise, and STEM. But we cannot do it alone.

Today, we want to shine a spotlight on a business that saw our vision from the very beginning. Since 2022, Morley Glass has been more than a sponsor; they’ve been a true Strategic Impact Partner, helping to shape the journey of our mission from its earliest days. Here is how our collaboration started, the incredible impact it has made, and why it is more urgent than ever for your business to join us in empowering the next generation.

Tackling the NEET Crisis Together

The transition from education to employment is broken for too many young people. Currently, 1 in 8 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are not in employment, education, or training (NEET). As highlighted by the government's recent Young People and Work interim report, the need for early, practical intervention is absolutely critical.

Young people are frequently leaving school without the skills, confidence, or networks they need to succeed in the world of work. This is an issue that both The PIECES Project and Morley Glass are fiercely passionate about. We know that industries like manufacturing often have career paths that remain completely invisible to the next generation.

By bringing real-world tools, enterprise thinking, and problem-solving into our workshops, we are actively working to reduce those NEET numbers. But the urgency is real. We need more forward-thinking businesses to step up and help us expand this highly impactful mission.

Building Essential Employability Skills

We are doing much more than just making things. We are teaching valuable skills and creating meaningful pathways into the future. To truly bridge the gap between education and employment, we focus on equipping young people with the essential life and employability skills that businesses are actively looking for.

Through our hands-on workshops and enterprise challenges, young people develop a robust toolkit for their future careers, including:

Employability Skills & Work Experience: Gaining practical, real-world experience that builds a foundation for future careers.
Business & Financial Acumen: Understanding costs, pricing, profit margins, and overall profit and loss.
Communication & Public Speaking: Developing the ability to confidently pitch ideas and present business plans.
Teamwork & Leadership Development: Collaborating effectively on product design and sales strategies while encouraging a growth mindset.
Critical Thinking & Time Management: Fostering the ability to creatively solve problems and manage project deadlines.

From Reclaimed Wood to Real-World Impact

Sustainability is at the heart of our work. Our partnership with Morley Glass began with a shared commitment to the environment. We reuse wooden boxes and sheets donated by Morley Glass, keeping materials out of landfill. Our team of designers then transforms this reclaimed wood into exciting new products using laser cutting technology.

However, the partnership quickly evolved beyond material donations. What began with their donation of wood sheets and wooden boxes quickly grew into the Creative Enterprise Challenge for secondary school students, launched in February 2022, thanks to their support.

Because of their forward-thinking investment, we were able to run our first-ever workshops. Fast forward to today, and we have helped over 4,000 young people build confidence, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. The workforce of tomorrow is being shaped today. Don't wait until the skills gap widens. Step up, claim your spot, and help us tackle this crisis head-on.

Become a Strategic Impact Partner

What does it mean to be a Strategic Impact Partner? It means going beyond a traditional financial donation to truly co-create impact. A Strategic Impact Partner works alongside us to align their core business values with our youth-focused mission.

By becoming a Strategic Impact Partner, you can help us shape the journey of our mission. This could look like:

Donating sustainable or waste materials to fuel our hands-on workshops, just like Morley Glass.
Connecting young people directly with employers through talks, mentoring, and real-world projects.
Equipping our creative studio with tools and materials to keep our sessions innovative and inclusive.
Helping us expand our outreach to work with more schools, youth organisations, and local communities.

What you get as a Strategic Impact Partner:

4 x 90-minute Team-Building Workshops per year for up to 30 people. These are creative, hands-on, and rooted in our unique approach to personal development
Employee Volunteering Opportunities at PIECES events, workshops, and community projects.
Quarterly Strategy Sessions with our fundraising lead: track your impact and shape future priorities
Premium Visibility: logo and partner profile on our website, social media, and PR activity
Annual Impact Report & Year-End PR Feature
A Meaningful Thank You Gift from our team, created by the young people you’re helping to support.

Become a Level 2 Business Sponsor

If you are looking for a straightforward, highly rewarding way to support our community, we also offer a Level 2 Business Sponsor package at £500 - £2,000/month for a 12-month sponsorship. This is ideal for small-to-mid-sized businesses looking to make a meaningful, sustained impact.

Your support directly fuels our youth empowerment workshops, helping us subsidise places, materials, and delivery in schools, youth organisations, and our creative hub.

What you get as a Business Sponsor:

2 x 90-minute Team-Building Workshops per year for your staff (up to 30 people).
Logo on our website and regular sponsor highlights on social media.
A special thank-you gift from our team to acknowledge your support.
Quarterly email updates showing the difference you're helping to make.

Let's Make a Difference Together

Whether you're a small business or a large organisation, your support can help us change lives. This isn’t just about giving. It’s about building futures, raising aspirations, and creating lasting opportunities.

Morley Glass helped us lay the foundation for The PIECES Project, and now we are urgently looking for more incredible businesses to help us expand our reach and tackle the NEET crisis head-on. We’d love to explore how we can work together.

Whether your support is big or small, there are lots of ways that you and your business can help us to help more young people. Click here to find out more.