Lived Experience | City & Guilds Foundation

Empowering Young Carers: Building Skills, Confidence, and Future Pathways

by Lauren Roberts | 31 Jul 2025 | Awareness Raising, Campaigning, Charity partners, Lived Experience, News, News & events, Social Impact

At the City & Guilds Foundation, our mission is all about removing barriers to get a job, helping people get on the job and advocating for jobs of the future. We work closely with our charity partners to help support individuals that face barriers into a job. We’re proud to have a long-standing relationship with the Carers Trust. Young carers in the UK play a crucial role in the economy, providing significant support and value. Their contributions are estimated to be worth £184...

Listen. Learn. Support. What Refugee Week Reminds Us about Community

by Lauren Roberts | 23 Jun 2025 | Awareness Raising, Campaigning, Charity partners, Lived Experience, News, News & events, Our networks, Refugee support, Social Impact

At City & Guilds, we believe in the life-changing power of skills. But we also know that skills alone aren’t always enough to help people succeed. That’s why, through the City & Guilds Foundation we’ve been working with grassroots charities and partners since 2022 to help refugees and displaced people access training, build confidence, and find meaningful work. Here’s a little bit about the impact we’re making. Since launching our Displaced People Fund in 2022, we’ve: Supported...

Green Start: A transformative programme continuing to empower ex-offenders from Groundwork

by Polly Rowe | 21 Jun 2024 | Case studies, Charity partners, Lived Experience, News, Prisoners and ex-offenders

Last year, we reported on the inspiring work being carried out by Groundwork, a UK-wide alliance of charities that brings communities together to tackle poverty and environmental challenges. Committed to creating opportunities for all, they launched their Green Start programme in 2021 in partnership with the City & Guilds Foundation to equip prison leavers with construction, carbon literacy and green skills. The programme has exceeded expectations, with positive prisoner outcomes, a...

Foundation & Friends Podcast: Unlocking Hidden Refugee Talent with Jessica Ridgewell from Breaking Barriers

by Natasha Kalinga | 19 Jun 2024 | Awareness Raising, Charity partners, Lived Experience, Podcasts, Refugee support

How employers can harness the potential of refugee candidates While many UK employers will be aware of the social value associated with supporting refugees, not all will be aware of how best to harness the talent and experience that refugees can bring to the workplace. In this podcast, host Lauren Roberts is joined by Jessica Ridgewell, Head of Corporate Partnerships, Breaking Barriers, who shares her experience of helping major UK businesses to access, integrate and benefit from refugee...

Foundation & Friends Podcast: Championing Investment into DEI Programmes with Tammy Banks from Taye Training

by Natasha Kalinga | 30 May 2024 | Awards alumni, Awareness Raising, City & Guilds initiatives, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Lived Experience, Neurodiversity, Podcasts

Successful DEI training within organisations can foster innovation and creativity as well as attract and retain top talent. To explore this topic, host Charmain Bucho, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at City & Guilds, is joined by Taye Training Director, Consultant & Facilitator Tammy Banks. The esteemed author and TED Talks speaker explores how investment in skills opens opportunities for staff in the social care and criminal justice sectors. Tammy discusses the transformative...

ReSET: Recognising strengths developed through lived experience

by Natasha Kalinga | 27 Jun 2023 | Charity partners, Lived Experience, News, News & events, Prisoners and ex-offenders, Refugee support, Resources

We’re pleased to be able to launch ReSET: a strengths-based engagement tool which has been designed using the lived experience of people who are marginalised.

Supporting young carers in employment

by Lauren Roberts | 15 Mar 2023 | Awareness Raising, Campaigning, Charity partners, Events, Lived Experience, News, Youth engagement

Young carers provide unpaid care and support to family members or friends who have a disability, illness, mental health condition, or substance misuse problem. According to our partners the Carers Trust there were 177,918 young carers in England and Wales at the last census and additionally there are 29,000 young carers in Scotland. However, this is widely believed to be the tip of the iceberg, with some estimates suggesting that as many as one in five schoolchildren are young carers...

Reflecting on our achievements in 2022

by Justine Procter | 14 Dec 2022 | Bursaries, Charity partners, City & Guilds initiatives, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Funding, Lived Experience, News, Our networks, Princess Royal Training Awards, Prisoners and ex-offenders, Refugee support, Resources, Responsible Business, Social Impact, Youth engagement

As the end of 2022 fast approaches, the team at the City & Guilds Foundation took some time to reflect and share their top highlights and achievements from the last year and moments to be proud of. Laura Mountain “Thinking about what we’ve collectively achieved over the past year, it is really incredible and just goes to show what you can do with brilliant, passionate people who constantly pull together – and challenge each other – to do the best they can. A particular highlight for me has...

[Podcast] Lost Opportunities: The Hidden Cost of Caring

by Lauren Roberts | 16 Mar 2022 | Awareness Raising, Campaigning, Charity partners, Critical transition points, Lived Experience, Our networks, Podcasts

To celebrate Young Carers Action Day, Lauren Roberts, our Foundation Advocacy lead invited Rosario Waterlow, Corporate Partnerships Executive to talk about her lived experience of being a young carer and navigating the education system and employment. Listen to hear about what more educators and employers can do support young carers to tackle the growing issues of isolation. At the City & Guilds Foundation we are all about removing the barriers that less advantaged members of our...