ReSET: Recognising strengths developed through lived experience

At City & Guilds, our purpose is to help people develop their skills – so that they can get into a job, develop on the job or move into the next one. We often know the outcome of someone who has done one of our qualifications or been in receipt of funding from us, but we don’t know always know about their lived experience, about the journey that people travelled beforehand. And if we do know their journey, we might be tempted to jump to conclusions about the type of person they then are.

Everyone is different – and we all bring different strengths with us to the working world, particularly through our own lived experiences. Through the City & Guilds Foundation, we’ve worked with a varied group of people who have had different lived experiences – be that Prison or care leavers; people who are neurodivergent; refugees; single parents; people in genuine financial… the list goes on. And having talked to those diverse groups we know that when someone is from a marginalised group they can lack confidence, especially when it comes to talking about how their lived experience has contributed to their strengths.

We’re pleased to be able to launch ReSET which stands for ‘Recognise Strengths Engagement Tool.’ It is designed to share stories gained from the lived experience of people who are marginalised, to create a strengths-based engagement tool. The tool aims to increase confidence and awareness, whilst providing ‘safe language’ that enables people to share their strengths, without having to necessarily disclose their own personal journey.

We’re hoping that this tool will provide more opportunities to providers and potential employers to recognise strengths, within a commonly understood framework and language.

Talking about the tool, City & Guilds Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Charmain Bucho said:

“An inclusive organisational culture is one that recognises and supports the whole person. It is only when that type of environment is created that individuals can overcome persistent barriers to employment and truly thrive. We’re delighted to be able to launch ReSET and help transform how people communicate their strengths, how employers view life experiences throughout recruitment and career progression, and ultimately how organisations can provide equitable opportunities for all.” 

As part of our first phase of ReSET we’ve launched information and guidance for people who are prison leavers or who have achieved refugee status. Organisations we’ve worked with on this includes The Launchpad Collective and St Giles.

How can you get involved?

You can pledge your support by sharing ReSET amongst your networks or encouraging your HR teams to adopt the approach within your recruitment processes. We’d also really encourage individuals to share their feedback and stories so that we can create more positive change in this space for marginalised groups.

Everyone deserves the opportunity to develop their skills, no matter what path they’ve been on to get where they are today.

Find out more about ReSET here: ReSET: Recognise Strengths Engagement Tool