Overview
Aviva is proud to take action with partners to help improve employment prospects, strengthen financial resilience, protect and restore nature and invest in housing and infrastructure across Sheffield and South Yorkshire. Aviva has joined with key organisations to help build financial resilience for individuals and businesses, support vulnerable people in rebuilding their lives, and transform disadvantaged areas through access to nature. Aviva's strategic partnerships with the local mayoral authority aims to drive economic growth, and collaborations with Sheffield City Council aims to improve employability prospects for young people.
Improving employability prospects
See it Be it
Aviva is key partner in See it Be it, created by Sheffield City Council and Business in the Community (BITC) to connect businesses with young people to boost their aspirations and work‑readiness.
Aviva colleagues volunteer their time to offer mock interviews, careers talks, workplace visits, mentoring and skills workshops - ultimately helping young people to create the link between education and employment.
During 2025, Aviva colleagues connected with over 3,200 students across Sheffield schools. One of those young people was Solomon. He wanted a career in finance, so an Aviva colleague connected him with our finance team, and he later presented his ideas to the PLC Board. With ongoing mentoring, Solomon is now applying for our graduate programme - a great example of how opportunity can change futures.
Sheffield College
Aviva’s Inclusive Recruitment Pilot with Sheffield College has enabled young people from deprived backgrounds to join Aviva. Aviva took the learnings from this pilot into the recruitment practices across the organisation.
Strengthening financial resilience
Firvale Community Hub and Meadows Nursery
Aviva’s partnership with Firvale Community Hub is tackling financial insecurity head-on. Aviva-funded roles have already supported hundreds of families with budgeting, debt advice and advocacy, unlocking annual income gains and reducing crisis risks.
At Meadows Nursery in Shirecliffe, Aviva, alongside Homewards, is funding a trauma-informed Family Link Worker to help local parents stabilise finances and connect to employment pathways.
SY EcoFit
With South Yorkshire EcoFit, we’re addressing the retrofit skills gap and creating jobs which aim to have a positive environmental impact. Aviva, alongside South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, is supporting Ecofit mobilise a Retrofit Skills Taskforce with the aim of upskilling workers and building a local network to make homes more energy efficient, strengthen community wealth and cut carbon.
The Archer Project
The Archer Project gives vulnerable people in Sheffield the tools to rebuild their lives through stable employment. They raised over £125,000 through the Aviva Community Fund, which has allowed them to continue their three-tier service offering which helps homeless people at each stage of their journey towards a more stable and fulfilling life.
Protecting and restoring nature
Greening the Grey Streets
Through the Aviva Community Fund (ACF), we have supported projects aimed at building climate resilience. In 2023, the ACF funded the creation and maintenance of urban green spaces in Sheffield through the Greening the Grey Streets project. This initiative, in collaboration with local community groups, focuses on transforming disadvantaged areas by planting street trees. The ACF funded project targeted the Highfield and Lowfield areas, where the community has little or no money to fund street trees themselves.
Investing in housing and infrastructure
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
In 2023, Aviva partnered with the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to drive economic growth in the region.
With a need for approximately 5,000 new homes annually, including 2,000 affordable homes, in South Yorkshire, Aviva and SYMCA will operate a collaborative approach to address the residents’ need for access to safe, affordable housing - focusing on the availability of sustainable housing that contributes to a net-zero economy.
Aviva and SYMCA aim to capitalise on the vast potential of South Yorkshire to drive positive outcomes for the local economy and communities.
More sustainability in action
See how we’re helping to regenerate the places where we live and work.
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Bristol
We're helping to protect and restore nature, and improve employability prospects across Bristol and Gloucestershire.
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Eastleigh
We're helping to strengthen financial resilience, invest in housing and infrastructure, and improve employability prospects across Eastleigh and Southampton.
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Norwich
We're investing in housing and infrastructure, and helping strengthen financial resilience, improve employment prospects, support climate adaptation and protect and restore nature across Norwich and Norfolk.
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Perth
We're helping to improve employability prospects across Perth and Tayside.
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York
We're helping to improve employment prospects, strengthen financial resilience, and protect and restore nature across York and North Yorkshire.
