Back in June we announced that we were inviting expressions of interest for the second round of our Big Idea Fund. The £1m Big Idea Fund was established in 2019 as the first major initiative of our Foundation, to support prisoners with upskilling to aid their rehabilitation on release. Following an initial shortlist, 11 projects out of 37 applications were invited to submit a full application which was scored by our Commissioner Panel which includes City & Guilds Chief Executive, Kirstie...
St Giles’ Trust
The latest stories with this tag from the City & Guilds Foundation and our networks.
ReSET: Recognising strengths developed through lived experience
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.
How we’re supporting St Giles to change lives by investing in vital training
St Giles is a London-based charity that helps people create a better future for themselves, and they’ve been an active part of our Foundation network for over five years. The charity works with people to overcome poverty, exploitation, abuse, addiction, mental health problems, crime or a combination of these issues. And a significant number of its peer advisors are people who have overcome their own struggles – often through St Giles’ own programmes. The peer advisors then use their ‘lived...
A warm welcome to our new Council Members
As part of its Royal Charter, City & Guilds has a Council, made up of external partners who provide advice and guidance on our work and are actively involved in how we serve the needs of our learners and employers. We are delighted to welcome our most recent new members who bring a wealth of expertise and experience from a wide range of sectors: Princess Royal Training Awards alumnae Candice Gardner, Education Manager – Digital and Content at Dermalogica and Denise Alexander,...
A partnership that’s making a real difference, to real people
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...
Supporting people and organisations through Covid-19
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...
From prison to lockdown: how to make peer-mentoring work in the crisis
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...