The charitable arm of training provider City & Guilds has handed 20 charities small grants of up to £10,000 to improve access in their community to skills and training.

The money has been handed out by City & Guilds Foundation through its Local Community Skills Fund to charities in the UK and Northern Ireland.

This Fund aims to “tackle skills gaps at a hyper-local level and aims to positively impact communities where access to training and development are limited and improve opportunities in areas facing acute deprivation. 

Charities support young people, women, people with disabilities and those with a neural difference are among those handed funded.

Those supported include Sports Fun 4 All, which support young people in disadvantaged communities in South London.

“The funding from City & Guilds will allow us to continue the delivery of our Sports Fun 4 All’s Sports Development Programme which provides structured employability pathways through sport for young people aged 16+ who are Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET),” said the charity’s founder and chief executive Keirn Connolly.

Another supported is East Midlands charity The Zink Project.

Its chief executive Paul Bohan said: “City & Guilds Foundation funding will enable Zink to support individuals who struggle to get work or who haven't worked before into volunteer placements to build work skills and gain confidence in their place in the labour market.”

City & Guilds executive director of corporate affairs and the Foundation Faiza Khan added: “I’m delighted that we are supporting these organisations, which will open doors for people across the UK facing barriers to gaining skills or career options and look forward to discovering more about how these innovative projects have helped change lives.”

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