Partnering with Skipton Building Society to deliver dementia awareness training

Skipton Building Society recently partnered with Dementia Carers Count to deliver an Introduction to Dementia training session for colleagues in their Working Parent and Carer Network. The session was for anyone currently caring for someone with dementia, those who may need to in future, and those who wanted to build a better general understanding of dementia.

There are around 982,000 people living with dementia in the UK, a figure projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040 (figures from Alzheimer’s Society 2026). Behind those figures sit hundreds of thousands of unpaid family carers, many of whom are also in full-time employment. 1 in 10 say their employer is not supportive, and 1 in 5 have had to leave work altogether due to their caring responsibilities (Dementia Carers Count 2025 Annual Survey).

For employers, this has direct operational implications. Carers who are not supported by their workplace are statistically more likely to reduce their hours, take unplanned leave, or leave the workforce entirely. Carers UK research indicates that around 600 people leave work every day in the UK to care for an older or disabled relative. The financial cost to businesses of failing to retain experienced staff in this position is significant.

Workplace training of the kind Skipton Building Society commissioned addresses this in two ways. It gives colleagues who are already caring access to information and support they may not have known existed. It also signals to the wider workforce that caring responsibilities are recognised and that conversations about them are welcome.

All colleagues who completed the post-session survey rated the content as very clear and easy to understand. All confirmed that the Q&A was helpful in reinforcing key takeaways. The majority reported a stronger understanding of dementia after the session and felt better prepared to support someone living with the condition.

Attendees said

“It was a great session, very informative, and I felt safe in that session to be able to ask any questions. The content was easy to follow and there was a lot of recommended sites and teams to reach out to which I didn’t know existed.”

“This is one of the best sessions I’ve been to regarding a health condition. It’s great to have someone so knowledgeable leading the session rather than a generic speaker.”

“It was so useful, interesting, insightful and overall delivered so well, with the perfect mix of theory and real life examples.”

Three elements of Skipton’s approach are worth highlighting for other employers considering similar work.

First, the session was offered as a standing invitation rather than a targeted intervention. Colleagues self-selected to attend, which removed the assumption that anyone present was already a carer. This is an important distinction for staff who may not yet feel ready to identify openly as carers at work.

Second, the session was delivered by an expert trainer with direct, sustained experience of dementia caring, not by a generalist wellbeing provider. Several pieces of feedback referenced this directly as a factor in the quality of the session.

Third, Skipton incorporated signposting to their internal support system and supportive policies during the session.

Dementia carers consistently tell Dementia Carers Count that they need three things in order to stay in employment: flexibility, understanding, and the opportunity to take Carers Leave when needed.