Supporting people and organisations through Covid-19

by Jan 22, 2021Awards alumni, Bursaries, Charity partners, Critical transition points, Funding, News

Earlier this year, the City & Guilds Foundation Committee approved £100k of funding to support organisations and individuals who are facing the fallout to their vital services / employment challenges due to Covid-19. Our purpose is all about helping people to develop their skills and our Foundation aims to remove barriers to getting a job, celebrate best practice on the job and to advocate for jobs of the future. 

We have been working hard to identify high impact interventions to support our networks. We’re delighted to share with you how the funding has been allocated so far.  

Emergency funding for charities in the Princess Royal Training Awards network 

Helping Resurgo to train and employ two new coaches. 

Resurgo specialise in coaching and mentoring individuals who are most disadvantaged in our communities. During the first lockdown, they had to pause their programmes and rewrite their content to be able to deliver their services remotely. Due to the increased demand for support from individuals in disadvantaged communities, they needed to train and recruit new coaching staff quickly. Thanks to our funding two individuals will complete an accreditation programme, allowing them to start employment with Resurgo in 2021.  

Learn more about how Resurgo’s Spear Programme changes lives.

Supporting Snow-Camp to develop social care and employability skills. 

Snow-Camp provide a series of snow-sports training programmes that enable young people to build relationships, whilst providing them with the skills and qualifications they need to lead safe and positive lives. All of their programmes are co-delivered by young people working as apprentices and volunteers who support their Programme Managers. In light of Covid-19, our funding is supporting Snow-Camp to offer advanced workshops and mental health training to youth workers so they can work with young people more effectively. The three main outcomes of the training are:  

  • To build positive routines for young people 
  • To create stronger support networks  
  • To improve young people’s aspirations for the future post Covid-19 
Snow-Camp launched a free and confidential service where trained volunteers take the conversations with young people who text in. Clinical supervisors oversee the volunteers’ conversations and give real-time advice if needed.

Unlocking access to careers in construction through CAIS 

Operating across Wales, CAIS help people who have problems with addictions, mental health, personal development and employment. They offer a comprehensive range of training courses to enable people to develop their skills and get into work. CAIS work closely with a network of construction employers who are interested in offering jobs to CAIS clients – if they have the right credentials. To work on a construction site, individuals need to complete the Construction Skills Certification Scheme and obtain the CSCS card. Our funding is enabling 50 individuals to complete the scheme and enter the labour market.  

Supporting Reprezent to train and employ a less privileged young person in the media industry. 

The funding is allowing Brixton youth-led radio station to offer a part-time job and complete development programme to a young person in need from their current group of talented young support volunteers. In this once in a lifetime opportunity the individual will gain industry-specific training and tangible experience in the media industry. They will also engage in periodic career development sessions receiving dedicated support in media-specific job search, CV writing and applications. They’ll also receive mentoring and support from inspirational peers from Reprezent’s roster who have achieved success at the BBC and Apple Music. 

Upskilling The Haven Wolverhampton‘s refuge workers with a Level 4 High Risk Domestic Abuse Victims and Survivors qualification. 

The Haven Wolverhampton supports women and dependent children who are vulnerable to domestic violence, homelessness and abuse. 

With domestic violence figures rising due to Covid-19 lockdowns, the work of this charity is more important than ever. With 4 refuges for women and children across Wolverhampton, the charity identified a need to upskill more frontline workers in order to continue to deliver essential services to an increasing number of beneficiaries. This qualification doesn’t currently exist in the West Midlands and we’re honoured that its development will enable local social workers to support their clients more efficiently. 

Connectr – shifting peer-mentoring online 

A grant to St Giles to help them build the new Connectr platform.  

The St Giles’ Connectr platform, built by My Kinda Future, was created to support the development of their Peer Adviser programme and to aid their immediate response to Covid-19. The Connectr Platform allows Peer Advisers to:  

  • Be inducted and prepared for the programme itself  
  • Share good practice and learn with each other virtually  
  • Seek support from Peers around the country for problem solving and specialist advice to assist their own case work. 

Individual grants to switch careers through our bursary scheme  

We supported 8 individuals with bursaries to help them gain new qualifications, ultimately enabling them to make a career change from one sector to another. The 4 individuals were all impacted by Covid-19 and left needing to reskill. One individual wanted to move into the health and social care sector because of the demand for more employees during the peak of the pandemic. Another was forced to leave the hospitality sector because of redundancy and wanted to reskill as an electrician. We wish all bursary recipients a successful career transition!  Read more about our bursary programme

As with all projects and partnerships supported by the Foundation, the social impact of the each of the interventions we’ve funded will be mapped against our framework. 

Our Recovery and Resilience report – found that people from lower socio-economic groups were less likely to believe they have the support needed to get a new job in the pandemic. The report found that affordability was a key blocker, preventing people from undertaking vital training to get back into employment. Delivering funding programmes like ours has never been more important.  

Want to be kept up to date?

Sign up to City & Guilds Foundation email alerts and newsletter

Previous posts

How Catch22 is supporting individuals into entry-level green sector roles

We know that the cost of training can be a huge obstacle to accessing the skills needed to get into work. This makes it even more challenging to those already facing barriers in society. That’s why over 20 years ago we established our bursary programme: to support...

Funding four exceptional craftspeople through Heritage Crafts bursary

We are delighted to announce funding for four exceptional craftspeople through the Heritage Crafts bursary scheme. The City & Guilds Foundation provides up to £4,000 per person to support heritage crafts trainees whose talent might otherwise be lost to the sector...

Fellowship in the City event: Paving the way for those looking to progress in engineering

Over 145 years ago, City & Guilds was founded by Livery Companies with royal patronage, and ever since has celebrated and valued that relationship. On Monday 02 September, at Mansion House in London, we brought together two of our oldest friends, the City of...

Princess Royal Training Awards class of 2024 receive royal recognition for tremendous training and incredible impact

City & Guilds has today announced the 52 training programmes that will be recognised by the 2024 Princess Royal Training Awards. Now in its ninth year, The Princess Royal Training Awards continue to recognise organisations who demonstrate exceptional commitment to learning and development, and is now established as a prestigious and sought-after accolade in this field. With skills training increasingly cited as a key to improving productivity challenges within the economy, creating learning programmes to develop new and existing workforce talent is now more important than ever.

Foundation & Friends Podcast: Fostering Neuroinclusive Workplaces with Kirstie Donnelly MBE and Prof. Amanda Kirby

What if recognising subtle signs of struggle at work could revolutionise your team's productivity and well-being? In this insightful episode of the Foundation & Friends podcast, City & Guilds Chief Executive, Kirstie Donnelly MBE, sits down with Professor...

The Commonwealth Heritage Forum and City & Guilds of London Art School are pleased to offer Introduction to Global Conservation: Commonwealth Summer School

City & Guilds of London Art School is delighted to be partnering with Commonwealth Heritage Forum to host a two-week Introduction to Global Conservation summer school. The summer school will bring together 24 participants working in restoration and construction...

Foundation & Friends Podcast: Transforming Futures Of Young People with Faiza Khan MBE

Young people now face unprecedented challenges, including financial worries, employment and climate concerns - with implications for a new generation’s mental health, and the health of the UK economy. In this Foundation & Friends podcast, host and Executive...

Rhi Christie makes waves with winning entry at Pewter Live design competition

Rhi Christie, from Cardiff, is celebrating winning the City & Guilds Learner Prize at this year’s Pewter Live, an annual European Design Competition which promotes the use of pewter and innovation in design. Each year, this important event is supported by City...

Green Start: A transformative programme continuing to empower ex-offenders from Groundwork

Last year, we reported on the inspiring work being carried out by Groundwork, a UK-wide alliance of charities that brings communities together to tackle poverty and environmental challenges. Committed to creating opportunities for all, they launched their Green Start...

Foundation & Friends Podcast: Unlocking Hidden Refugee Talent with Jessica Ridgewell from Breaking Barriers

How employers can harness the potential of refugee candidates While many UK employers will be aware of the social value associated with supporting refugees, not all will be aware of how best to harness the talent and experience that refugees can bring to the...

Podcast episodes

Foundation & Friends Podcast (2024-)

​Green Skills Podcast in collaboration with Green Edge (2024-)

Hosted by Dr. Michael Cross and Fraser Harper, this podcast series explores the critical transition towards a sustainable planet and the pivotal role of green skills in shaping the economy.

Listen now

City & Guilds Foundation Podcast (2021-22)

Share This