The City & Guilds Foundation has awarded almost £190,000 to 25 community organisations through the second round of its Local Community Skills Fund, supporting people across the UK to develop skills and take steps towards employment.
The second funding round ran from 30 March to 24 April 2026, with grants awarded to organisations delivering practical, community-based skills programmes. The fund’s typical grant range is between £6,000-£10,000 per organisation.
The 25 successful organisations span all four UK nations and most English regions, with particularly strong representation from the North East.
Bringing skills and employment support into communities
The fund supports organisations that help people overcome barriers to skills development by delivering training in trusted, familiar community settings.
The second round reflects the breadth of these barriers and the importance of tailored, locally delivered provision. Funded projects include work experience and traineeships for young people facing barriers to employment, ESOL and digital skills for migrant and refugee women, programmes designed for neurodivergent people and people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and support for veterans and their families.
It is also supporting distinctive sector-specific training, from heritage construction and hospitality to textiles and green and renewable energy skills.
Laura Mountain, at the City & Guilds Foundation explains how this funding is making a difference:
“Community organisations are often best placed to understand the barriers people face and to create opportunities that feel relevant, accessible and achievable. By supporting these organisations, we can help bring skills and employment pathways into the places where people live, while giving individuals the confidence, practical experience and skills they need to take their next step. The range of projects supported through this round shows just how much can be achieved when local knowledge and community connections are combined with investment in skills.”
Among the successful organisations is Arc in Stockport, which has received £8,500 for its Stockport Pathways programme. Based at Stockport’s Hat Works building, the project will provide hospitality, heritage and retail skills training for 15 young people aged 18-25 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and are experiencing mental health barriers.
In Kent, Beyond the Page has been awarded £6,000 for United Mothers. The project will provide women-only ESOL and digital skills sessions for 70 migrant women in Cliftonville and Ramsgate, responding to barriers that can make mainstream training difficult to access.
For refugees living in rural North Devon, access to specialist training can be particularly challenging. The Pickwell Foundation is using a £6,000 grant to establish a Barista Skills Academy at its Settle welcome hub, bringing vocational training directly into a community located more than two hours from the nearest training centre.
Creating routes into employment
Several grants are supporting established programmes that use practical training and work experience to create routes into employment for people who face additional barriers.
In Bournemouth and Poole, The CRUMBS Project has received £10,000 to continue its hospitality traineeship programme for adults with disabilities. Approaching its 30th anniversary, the organisation is building on an established model of community-based support and vocational training.
Millie Capon, Fundraising & Corporate Partnerships Coordinator at The Crumbs Project said:
“Through structured, hospitality-based learning, The CRUMBS Project provides a safe and inclusive environment where trainees build confidence, gain recognised skills and rediscover their potential. By focusing on ability, not limitation, we empower individuals to move towards fulfilling futures within their communities.”
The funding is also supporting people to develop skills in emerging industries. South Eastern Regional College has received £3,000 for Coast2Energy, bringing wind-energy skills training to Murlough, a deprived coastal community in Northern Ireland where there is currently no existing renewable-energy training provision.
The funded projects demonstrate how community organisations can connect people with relevant skills, practical experience and employment pathways, particularly where traditional routes into training may not work for everyone.
Supporting locally led solutions
The Local Community Skills Fund is designed to recognise the knowledge and relationships held by organisations working within their communities. By supporting locally delivered programmes, the fund helps bring skills opportunities closer to the people who need them and enables organisations to respond to specific local circumstances.
From hospitality and heritage to renewable energy, digital skills and ESOL, the second round highlights the diverse ways community organisations are helping people build confidence, develop practical skills and move closer to employment.
Read more about the 25 funded organisations and their work here.