The UK wing of Grant Thornton has partnered with Estu, to launch a new capability framework, to help organisations build in-house innovation skills. The change management centre will be delivered by Estu, having been co-designed by Grant Thornton consultants.
Simon Littlewood, CEO for Estu, explained, “For organisations to be the most adaptable to change, their people across roles and functions need to be equipped with relevant skills and capability. Understanding value, designing better services, commercial and critical thinking, effective communication and change leadership all create the bedrock for cultures that drive effective transformation and continued agility.”
Estu is a specialist learning provider, focused on innovation and transformation, working with organisations and individuals who are driven to make a difference. The company, with more than 20 staff, works to provide methodologies which make complex changes simpler, via organisation psychology and strategic communication.
Partnering with Grant Thornton, which has more than 5,000 staff in the UK alone, the firm will be able to scale its latest offering – something which Littlewood said was an “exceptional opportunity for learners”. He added that the change management centre could better help develop “skills and embrace change confidently, learning from world leaders in innovation and service design alongside sector and commercial experts.”
A cornerstone of Estu’s future skills offering, the centre focuses on practical application, fast upskilling and immediate impact. Co-designed by Grant Thornton, the centre brings together a suite of apprenticeship levy funded programmes led by high-calibre tutors and experienced practitioners with deep expertise in large-scale transformation – combining academic rigour with real-world insight. Developed as a scalable and flexible system for capability development, the centre allows organisations to target specific skill gaps or build enterprise wide transformation leadership over time.
Core curriculum
There are three core elements of the framework.
The innovation and change leadership programme is delivered over 15 months, and combines professional accreditation with practical, work based learning to build lasting in house transformation capability. Participants complete an apprenticeship alongside a Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Award in Leadership and Management, creating a pathway to chartered status.
The future leaders in innovation and change programme is focused on early-career talent and those entering the workforce. It equips participants with the practical skills to contribute to innovation and change initiatives from day one, strengthening organisational talent pipelines while supporting social mobility and long-term workforce development.
The bespoke transformation academy meanwhile serves organisations seeking to embed skills development into an existing transformation. Here, the centre enables clients to co-design bespoke ‘transformation academies’, tailored to organisational priorities, enabling consistent, high-quality capability development across multiple cohorts and functions.
Ruth Walsh, head of future skills consulting at Grant Thornton, concluded, “Our partnership with Estu is built on a shared commitment to practical, user-centred learning that delivers real and lasting change. Our research has shown that apprenticeships continue to play a central role in workforce planning for businesses in 2026. An encouraging 76% of businesses view apprenticeships as important to their workforce strategy, with 33% seeing them as critical for closing skills gaps.”
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