It was an absolute honour last week to address the graduating cohort from Positive Youth Foundation – a day brimming with celebration, inspiration, and pride.
For those not familiar, Positive Youth Foundation (PYF) supports newly arrived young people to the UK, aged 16-25, in Coventry. Initially established in 2011 as a youth charity to support young people in the city, in 2015 PYF created its Involved Programme to support the integration of newly arrived refugee and asylum-seeking young people.
Funding from the City & Guilds Foundation was initially approved in FY23 and was aimed at helping PYF create a career boost programme, which would help between 50 and 60 young people over one year with mentoring, access to on-line learning and volunteering, with the hope that this would help them to access college to further progress in education.
This combination of skills development is, and was, aimed to boost the confidence of these newly arrived young people, with the hopes that it will support them with gaining further employment, education or training. In September 2024, further funding was approved to support newly arrived young people in Coventry to access vital skills programmes to help them progress to EET (employment, education and training). To date, there are 248 individuals that have been engaged in the funded programmes. This has far exceeded the initial number of people we sought to support.
Building a Foundation of opportunity
At City & Guilds, our mission is to develop people’s skills and help them unlock their potential. We understand that skills are not just tools for career advancement but powerful agents of transformation. That belief is at the heart of our partnership with Positive Youth Foundation, a collaboration rooted in shared goals of inclusion, empowerment, and creating pathways to success.
Graduation ceremonies mark milestones, but this event was about more than certificates and recognition. It was a testament to the power of resilience, ambition, and community of these young people.
Stories of growth and achievement
Among the many inspiring participants that attended, we also had a fantastic panel join the graduation ceremony which included two PYF graduates, and Fouad Al-Kadi, Founder of Shift Up, who was able to inspire the young people in the room with his own story of resilience and hope where he could talk about his upbringing and life in Syria. Fouad was table to inspire the young people by telling them to trust themselves, and not feel down after setback, and most importantly, not to be afraid to ask and to learn.
This achievement of the young people who attended is even more remarkable considering the challenges many participants have faced—navigating unfamiliar environments, adapting to new systems, and building lives in the face of adversity. The courage and strength shown by these young people is nothing short of extraordinary.
Our CEO, Kirstie Donnelly, commended on the graduation ceremony: ‘City & Guilds is privileged to have this relationship with the Positive Youth Foundation and to be part of the incredible work that you all do. As part of my role as CEO, I took part in a ‘seeing and believing’ visit to see firsthand the amazing support and opportunities PYF provides, and I was delighted that the City & Guilds team got behind this project. It’s clear to see the true partnership we’ve built together, and today, we’re witnessing the positive impact of that partnership through your graduation.
But the real praise from me is for you, our graduates. It’s your stories, your determination, and your strength that we draw inspiration from, and we know how fortunate we are to have played a small part in your journey.’
Looking ahead
As we celebrate the achievements of PYF’s graduates, we remain committed to supporting initiatives that equip young people with the skills, confidence, and opportunities they need to thrive. For me a key takeaway was how many of the young people talked about how ‘little by little’ they have learned and then achieved more and more, until they reached this milestone of graduation. Each have significant adversity but are overcoming barriers little by little. It struck me then that we too, at City & Guilds can make big change happen little by little – changing lives, communities and companies through skills.
Together with PYF, we envision a future where every young person feels empowered to shape their destiny and contribute to society meaningfully.
