Ahead Partnership
at UKREiiF 2026:
Connecting skills
and social value

We’re heading to UKREiiF 2026 in Leeds to join the conversations shaping the future of the UK’s places and spaces. As a social value specialist working at the intersection of education, employers and local growth, we’re excited to be part of a conference that brings together local authorities, investors, developers, infrastructure partners and the wider built environment ecosystem to build the foundations of a future where young people can thrive, no matter their background.

Tuesday 19 May, 4pm – 5pm at the RLB pavilion

“Connecting the Dots: From Procurement Metrics to Enduring Community Impact”

Social value in procurement remains inconsistently defined, unevenly measured and often treated as compliance. This session examines whether metrics‑driven models help or hinder lasting outcomes, exploring how procurement shapes communities and whether social value will meaningfully influence asset risk, performance and market perceptions.

Stephanie Burras CBE, Chief Executive of Ahead Partnership joins Syreeta Bayne, Head of Social Value and Sustainability at Muse, Elisabetta Li Destri Nicosia, Managing Director at Amro Real Estate Partners and others on a panel chaired by Paul Beeston, Partner at RLB.

Thursday 21 May, 11:30am – 12:30pm at the Caddick and Moda pavilion

“Beyond Bricks and Mortar: How Major Regeneration can Tackle the NEET Challenge”

This panel explores how long-term regeneration can embed skills, jobs and community outcomes from the start. Focusing on new investment, from MDCs and stadia to infrastructure and data centres, it challenges short-term, compliance-led social value, setting practical routes to tackle record youth unemployment.

Andy Clarke, Partnerships Director at Ahead Partnership joins panellists at the Caddick and Moda pavilion to discuss how the sector can collaborate to tackle the NEET challenge and its impact on the built environment.

Click here to view the full conference programme 

Across UKREiiF, we’ll be listening for (and contributing to) the practical questions that sit behind the big ambitions: How do we equip young people with the skills to enter the workforce? How do we make opportunity visible and accessible for young people from all backgrounds? And how do we design social value strategies that are locally rooted, impactful and provide a win-win-win for young people, businesses and the economy?

Building partnerships with purpose: Connecting public and private sector organisations around a common purpose to level the playing field for young people entering the sector

Skills development with impact: Equipping young people with the skills to enter the workforce and thrive. Supporting junior teams to develop their own skills through volunteering

Tackling the NEET crisis: Bringing together organisations to create practical solutions with tangible impact to combat youth unemployment figures that pose a serious risk to the sector’s talent pipeline.