News | City & Guilds Foundation

The real impact of the pandemic on young people

by Lauren Roberts | 21 May 2021 | Awards alumni, Charity partners, Critical transition points, News

This guest post is by Anna Kent, Communications Manager at Snow-Camp. Snow-Camp are the UK’s only charity using a combination of snowsports, life-skills training and mental wellbeing support to help young people from inner-city communities. Working at the indoor snow centres in London, the North West, the Midlands and Scotland, we also provide qualifications, work experience and volunteering opportunities to those who would never normally get the chance to access the snowsports industry. In...

A partnership that’s making a real difference, to real people

by Polly Rowe | 21 May 2021 | Charity partners, Funding, News, Prisoners and ex-offenders, Social Impact

The City & Guilds Foundation and The Educators’ Trust have teamed up to provide mental health first aid training for a team of advisors delivering vital services to vulnerable young people. The training which also includes essential digital skills will be delivered through St Giles – a charity using expertise and real-life past experiences to empower people who are not getting the help they need. People held back by poverty, exploited, abused, dealing with addiction or mental health...

Announcing Clink Kitchens

by Stuart Tucker | 23 Mar 2021 | Charity partners, Funding, News, Our networks

Long term City & Guilds partner Clink Restaurant Charity announces the launch of Clink Kitchens, bringing new training opportunities to thousands of prisoners across 70 facilities We’re delighted to congratulate the Clink on the recent announcement that they will be launching their Clink Kitchens scheme, offering training, culminating in a City & Guilds qualification, across 70 prisons across the UK. Over the next three years this scheme will allow offenders to complete their level 2...

Championing degree apprenticeships

by Lauren Roberts | 22 Feb 2021 | Awareness Raising, Campaigning, News, Youth engagement

Since their launch in 2015, the interest and uptake of degree apprenticeships has been great. Last month I was invited to speak at Universities UK Degree apprenticeships conference. The agenda was all about responding to the increased interest in degree apprenticeships. We also looked at the unprecedented challenges not only the sector is facing, but UK economy overall and making sure that degree apprenticeships remain high on the agenda. My session focused on raising the profile of this...

Breaking leadership barriers for women

by Laura Mountain | 27 Jan 2021 | Awards alumni, Awareness Raising, Campaigning, Events, News

Sharing best practice Members of the Princess Royal Training Awards Alumni network have access to a wide range of benefits including opportunities to network with over 200 forward thinking UK-based organisations and the chance to attend many diverse events and development opportunities. One such virtual event took place on the 3 December when Sue Gammons, former Coaching Director at GSK, presented to 25 Alumni members on how creating a systemic approach to address gender balance led GSK to...

Support for a green start

by Polly Rowe | 27 Jan 2021 | Funding, Future Skills Commission for Prisons, News, Prisoners and ex-offenders

This guest post is by Andrew Harrison, Head of Contracts at Groundwork UK. As has often been said of late, we’re facing unprecedented challenges as a nation. Those challenges are many and significant – global economic trends, a changing climate and now an unforgiving pandemic. All of these forces impact first and worst on those in our society who have least, adding to the structural inequalities that have been affecting parts of our country for decades. Supporting those who need it most...

Supporting people and organisations through Covid-19

by Polly Rowe | 22 Jan 2021 | Awards alumni, Bursaries, Charity partners, Critical transition points, Funding, News

Earlier this year, the City & Guilds Foundation Committee approved £100k of funding to support organisations and individuals who are facing the fallout to their vital services / employment challenges due to Covid-19. Our purpose is all about helping people to develop their skills and our Foundation aims to remove barriers to getting a job, celebrate best practice on the job and to advocate for jobs of the future. We have been working hard...

New Year’s Honours: extraordinary people in our network

by Joanna Najjar | 19 Jan 2021 | Awards alumni, Fellowship Network, News

It was great to see so many individuals in the further education and skills development sectors in the New Year's Honours lists! Even better was to see some of the leaders of the organisations we work with being recognised. Congratulations to Peter Taylor, City & Guilds of London Institute Fellow, Member of Council and Princess Royal Training Awards alumnus. Peter was awarded an MBE for services to the jewellery and silversmithing industry. Peter has a long standing relationship with City...

Supporting vulnerable young people to access learning

by Lauren Roberts | 15 Jan 2021 | Awareness Raising, Campaigning, Digital poverty, News, Youth engagement

The City & Guilds Foundation is acutely aware of the challenges facing learners at all levels across the UK, including the many learners who receive support from our charitable partners or directly through the Foundation’s bursary programme. We applaud efforts being made by the UK Government and charities across the country to make the hardware necessary for online learning available to those in need, this support must continue to be rolled out with utmost urgency if we are to...

It’s time to act on digital exclusion

by Lauren Roberts | 4 Dec 2020 | Awareness Raising, Charity partners, Digital poverty, News, Youth engagement

Last month I was invited to speak at the Apprenticeship Diversity & Social Mobility Forum, which aims to bring together leading figures in diversity and inclusion, and experts on social mobility. The series of three annual events was organised by one of our newest partners, the BAME Apprenticeships Alliance, a community of organisations who support diversity in the workplace through policy and advocacy. The...