Finding new ways for people and industry to get the skills they need to thrive is front and centre of many conversations about the future right now. Unemployment and underemployment are issues seeping through every part of society – 1 million 16–24-year-olds, 1 million 50 – 65-year-olds – with people from all walks of life and demographics affected.
But there is no denying that people in certain parts of the UK, and those with additional barriers, are more likely to be at the sharp end of socioeconomic crises. It is groups and individuals in the most significant need that City & Guilds Foundation has sought to support through targeted funding and advocacy activities over the past ten years. We have also celebrated the organisations and individuals that are investing in skills training, thinking differently about how they can help create meaningful opportunities, with demonstrable gains to industry.
As we develop our strategy as an independent foundation, we’re thinking hard about how we direct our resources, and a big part of that is working out where skills can be most catalytic; when enabling people and industry to access each other through skills can genuinely transform lives, reduce inequality, and improve productivity.
Two ways we have been reflecting on how we reach people and employers is a) through place, and b) at a specific time.
Firstly, with devolution high on the political agenda and an increasing emphasis on place-based collaboration, we’ve pulled together evidence from across the various programmes we deliver that are rooted in place. We look at where it’s worked, what other factors need to be taken into account, and considerations for ourselves and others when seeking to deliver positive outcomes through a place lens.
Secondly, we reviewed evidence from our programmes supporting people at moments of transition, where the stakes are high and the bridges from one point to the next are not as strong as they should be. We consider where access to skills at both sides and during a critical transition can set people up for success, as well as recognising employers and trainers that create the supportive environments for people to successfully make those transitions. A huge thank you to everyone who has been so generous with their time contributing to these papers, as well as to all of those who joined our World Café(s) this summer sharing insights about how the Foundation can best deliver its purpose – to advance technical education for the benefit of all – in the future.