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Grants for charities

We provide grants and wider support to charities that can deliver innovative, practical skills and employment opportunities for individuals facing barriers to work.

The programmes we fund are often experimental in nature, and help prove that through taking a creative, targeted approach to widening talent pools and supporting harder to reach groups, we can build a better, fairer, more productive society.

We are currently focused on:

  • Helping prisoners gain skills and move into lasting employment on release
  • Removing barriers faced by refugees to develop skills and get meaningful work
  • Supporting people at Critical Transition Points in their lives and careers

The latest Charity partner stories on the City & Guilds Foundation website:

[Podcast] Lost Opportunities: The Hidden Cost of Caring

[Podcast] Lost Opportunities: The Hidden Cost of Caring

by | 16 Mar 2022 | , , , , , ,

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...

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No Going Back: City & Guilds Foundation supports The Livery Company initiative

No Going Back: City & Guilds Foundation supports The Livery Company initiative

by | 2 Mar 2022 | , , ,

There are few occasions since setting up City & Guilds some 144 years ago when the Livery Companies have worked together towards a single objective. And that’s why we’re delighted that through the City & Guilds Foundation we’re able to support the new and exciting Livery ‘No Going Back’ initiative supporting offender rehabilitation. At the City & Guilds Foundation supporting the rehabilitation of offenders and former offenders has been a priority for some time. We recognise that...

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Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) Applications for funding opening 12 July 2021

Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) Applications for funding opening 12 July 2021

by | 30 Jun 2021 | , , ,

We are delighted to announce that our friends at the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust will be accepting new applications for funding between 12 July and 16 August 2021. Talented and aspiring candidates can apply for up to £18,000 to further their education through traditional college courses, vocational training, apprenticeships or one-to-one training with master craftsmen. Please note this information is out of date. For 2022 information see the new post. The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship...

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The real impact of the pandemic on young people

The real impact of the pandemic on young people

by | 21 May 2021 | , , ,

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...

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

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

by | 21 May 2021 | , , , ,

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...

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Announcing Clink Kitchens

Announcing Clink Kitchens

by | 23 Mar 2021 | , , ,

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...

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Supporting people and organisations through Covid-19

Supporting people and organisations through Covid-19

by | 22 Jan 2021 | , , , , ,

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...

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It’s time to act on digital exclusion

It’s time to act on digital exclusion

by | 4 Dec 2020 | , , , ,

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...

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Interview with Change Grow Live’s Laura Shurrock

Interview with Change Grow Live’s Laura Shurrock

by | 15 Oct 2020 | , , , , ,

We recently caught up with Laura Shurrock, Mentoring Support Officer at Change Grow Live, a charity we have been supporting since 2018 with a three-year grant. Change Grow Live’s mission is to help people change the direction of their lives, grow as individuals, and live life to its full potential. Our funding supports Change Grow Live's project in partnership with Birmingham Youth Offending Service and the West Midlands Police, which helps young people in the community who are at risk of...

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From prison to lockdown: how to make peer-mentoring work in the crisis

From prison to lockdown: how to make peer-mentoring work in the crisis

by | 6 Oct 2020 | , , , ,

The best ideas are born out of necessity, and for St Giles that was finding a way to deliver the Peer Advisor programme during Covid-19. The programme trains people with lived experience of social exclusion, including many prisoners and prison-leavers, to become Level 3 qualified Peer Advisors who then go on to support others from similar backgrounds. It plays a significant role in helping people overcome barriers and move towards employment; research from Cranfield University found that...

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