- City & Guilds commit £500,000 in funding to target local challenges in areas of deprivation and economic inactivity in the UK
- New Transitions Commission announced to support more young people into Further Education
- 1 million young people are not in education, employment or training, the highest level for more than a decade
City & Guilds Foundation have established a new commission to address the high volume of youth unemployment in the UK.
The Transitions Commission will offer funding to organisations delivering innovative programmes that support young people at risk of falling out of education, training or employment.
This forms part of City & Guilds’ wider mission to improve access to opportunity, as the key to realising economic prosperity for individuals and for industries across the UK.
The Commission will explore scalable new approaches which could benefit the wider Further Education sector and help improve the hiring outlook for UK employers, through addressing workforce skills gaps.
Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics showed that nearly 1 million young people are not in education, employment or training, the highest level for more than a decade – an increase of 106,000 in the last year alone.
With funding of £500,000, the commission will target local challenges in areas of deprivation and economic inactivity in the UK, aiming to introduce practical new solutions that support vulnerable young people to succeed and realise their aspirations.
Laura Jane Rawlings MBE, CEO of Youth Employment UK, has been appointed as Chair of the Commission and will be supported by six commissioners, who represent a wealth of expertise gained within education, training and the youth sector:
- Stephen Greene CBE – Founder and CEO of Rockcorps
- Chris Martin – Founder of Mondo Martin and former CEO of The Mix
- Dick Palmer – Chair of City & Guilds Foundation and Vice-Chair City & Guilds
- Dr Mark Richards – Director of Outreach in the Imperial Physics Department and Founder of Duvas Technologies Ltd
- Princess Sebastiao – Member of the City & Guilds Young Learner Advisory Team
- Junior Smart OBE – Founder of SOS Gangs Project
The commission complements existing and well-established City & Guilds Foundation grant-giving schemes. Earlier this year, the Foundation launched the Local Community Skills Fund to support a wide range of initiatives to boost skills in communities across the UK.
The launch of the Fund followed City & Guilds’ latest Impact Report which revealed that £15.3 billion in social and economic returns was contributed to communities across the UK via access to skills through its courses in the period 2023-24.
Laura Jane Rawlings, Chair of The Transitions Commission, said:
“I am delighted to be part of the Transitions Commission to support vulnerable young people to successfully transition into training and employment, which we know is critical for a positive future. By supporting those working on the frontline to develop new approaches we hope to generate learnings that are useful to the whole sector in ensuring that no one is left unable to realise their potential.”
Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive, City & Guilds, said:
“At City & Guilds, we know that skills change lives and communities. However, too often, vulnerable young people fall through the gaps and are left behind. We are encouraged by the government’s recent announcement of major investment in skills, and hope this new commission, supported by funding from our Foundation, will identify new and impactful ways to help young people to overcome barriers and succeed, regardless of their background.“
The Transitions Commission invites expressions of interest from UK-based registered charities, social enterprises, colleges and further education providers that deal with unique local challenges. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit a full application.
An open webinar will be held on 31 March for interested organisations to find out more.