City & Guilds Foundation

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 community face when accessing quality skills development and sustainable employment. Carers Trust, part of our Foundation Collective, are a major charity who work to improve the support, services and recognition for anyone living with the challenges of caring, unpaid, for a family member or friend.

For more information visit: Carer Support Wiltshire

For more about the City & Guilds Foundation, visit: https://cityandguildsfoundation.org/

As part of the City & Guilds Foundation employer virtual roundtable events series, this episode explores how carefully implemented skills-based Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes can help your organisation to be an employer of choice and attract, retain, and maintain a happy workforce.


Hosted by Michael Osbaldeston, Special Advisor and Skills Ambassador, City & Guilds Foundation, and co-hosted by Paula Gibson. Strategic Commercial Manager at City & Guilds, this episode features Sally Eley, Director of the City & Guilds Foundation, Evelyn Bate, Head of Academy from Nestlé, Adele Bridgeman, Talent Business Partner at LADbible Group, John Paddock., Head of Employability from B&M Retail Stores.


For more about the City & Guilds Foundation, visit: https://cityandguildsfoundation.org/

As part of the City & Guilds Foundation Inclusion and diversity events series, offering thought-provoking conversations and actionable steps to promote equal opportunities and improve inclusion and diversity in your organisation.


In this event we explored gender diversity and women inclusion in male-dominated industries.


Women have made substantial progress in business and leadership positions. But many STEM-related fields are still resistant to gender diversity. How can coaching, mentoring and sponsorship help women increase their self-confidence and let their talent become the true driver for career progression?

Panel guest include:

Sonya Byers ( @veerasamy_sonya )

Chief Executive of Women in Transport

Sonya Byers is Chief Executive of Women in Transport. A non-profit membership network which supports the professional development of women working in transport through networking, mentoring, training and volunteering.

Women in Transport act as the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary for women in transport which campaigns for gender balance in the transport workforce.


Alexandra Evreinoff  ( alexandra-evreinoff )

Managing Director of INvolve

Alexandra has worked at INvolve for almost eight years, and has been integral to the development and success of the business as a D&I consultancy and network working across intersectional inclusion. As the first person to join INvolve’s CEO, Suki Sandhu, in creating and growing the OUTstanding LGBT+ network back in 2013, she was responsible for engaging and nurturing an amazing range of clients that INvolve still works with today, and orientating them around positive actions to support diverse talent. This experience of driving inclusive cultures with global clients has helped position Alex as an expert on all things inclusion and allowed her to shape INvolve’s growing portfolio of inclusion initiatives.

Charly Young  (  @young_charlotte )  

CEO of The Girls’ Network

Charly founded The Girls’ Network with Becca in 2013, whilst they were teaching in secondary schools in North West London. Her background is in education that supports the whole child, and the use of networks to facilitate this. Prior to teaching, she worked at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) as an education researcher, and with Whole Education supporting school leadership teams.
She is passionate about the use of networks to empower, support and mobilise people, and believes that good mentoring can be transformational, for both mentor and mentee.




Carmen Watson  ( carmen-watson )

Chair at Pertemps Recruitment Partnership

Carmen Watson has established herself as one of the UK’s most successful recruitment leaders. During her time with Pertemps she has navigated through challenging business climates, implemented a strategy which has helped drive growth and position Pertemps as a market leader in its field, servicing a broad cross section of industry verticals and public sector bodies.

Through promoting and delivering best practise in the field of attraction, recruitment and retention of a diverse range of talent, Carmen has ensured Diversity and Inclusion is at the fore.

Visit for more information: https://bit.ly/3EtABHm
For more about the City & Guilds Foundation, visit: https

As part of the City & Guilds Foundation Inclusion and diversity events series, offering thought-provoking conversations and actionable steps to promote equal opportunities and improve inclusion and diversity in your organisation. 


In this episode we explored excluded groups and giving fair chances for people with lived experience of prison to gain employment.


Most prison leavers want the opportunity to turn their life around. Having a job helps them stay out of prison and getting back on track is proven to reduce reoffending. How can employers get involved in their journey whilst addressing their skills gaps and playing a positive role in society?


Episode guests include:

• Surini Ranawake, Head of Employment Outcomes, New Futures Network
• James Timpson OBE DL, Chief Executive of Timpson Group, Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute
• Claire Wood, Chief of Staff and Marketing Services Director, Central Business Services at Deloitte LLP

Visit for more information: https://bit.ly/3EtABHm
For more about the City & Guilds Foundation, visit: https://cityandguildsfoundation.org/

As part of the City & Guilds Foundation Inclusion and diversity events series, offering thought-provoking conversations and actionable steps to promote equal opportunities and improve inclusion and diversity in your organisation. this episode explores the importance of role models and allies in breaking down barriers at work for all ethnic groups. 

Having visible role models at all levels of a company and across different roles provides concrete evidence and inspiration for ethnically diverse talent. Ally and advocate role models are vital in creating a business culture where anyone can succeed and see themselves as future leaders. How can you train employees to become allies and role models?

This episodes guest speakers were no other than:

• Frank Douglas, ( @fdoug23  ) CEO of Caerus Executive, City & Guilds Trustee, People Management D&I Power List 2020, In 2019, he was elected a Non-Executive Director/Trustee of City and Guilds Group. Also, in 2019, Frank was inducted into the HR ‘Hall of Fame’ by HR Magazine, for his advocacy of the Human Resources profession and of diversity and inclusion. In September 2018, Frank was named by the HR Most Influential panel as one of the top five ‘movers and shakers’ for his consulting work in culture and inclusion. He has, also been included in the list of the top 30 ‘most Influential HR Directors’ in the UK. 
• Sophie Williams, Anti-racism advocate, activist, and author. Sophie Williams is a TED Speaker, leading anti-racism advocate, activist, and the author of two books – Anti Racist Ally (October 2020) and Millennial Black (April 2021), both from Harper Collins.
  Sophie is a regular panelist, speaker, consultant, and workshop facilitator with a focus on anti-racism, and Diversity and Inclusion. Her writing has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, Bustle, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Refinery29, Elle, and Grazia.

Visit for more information: https://bit.ly/39dXakS

As part of the City & Guilds Foundation Inclusion and diversity events series, offering thought-provoking conversations and actionable steps to promote equal opportunities and improve inclusion and diversity in your organisation.  In this podcast we discussed LGBTQ+ experiences such as inclusion challenges and career progression.

What does being LGBTQ+ in the workplace look like today and what type of training do organisations need to ensure their retention and career progression? We explored how we can create workplaces that support LGBTQ+ individuals to stand up and stand out.

What does diversity and inclusion mean to me?

“Diversity is being asked to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” – Vernã Myers

Dr Ann Limb CBE, Chair of The Scouts, Vice-Chair of the City and Guilds of London Institute, Number 1 Public Sector Executive OUTstanding LGBT+ Role Model List 2019, chairs a panel made up of:

• Tanya Compas, Founder and CEO of Exist Loudly, 
• Jason Sloan, Organisational Development Lead, GSK, INvolve Top 50 OUTstanding LGBT+ Role Model, 
• Kirstie Donnelly MBE ( @K_DonnellyCEO ), Chief Executive of City & Guilds Group

"To be our best selves, our best teams and our best organisations, we must recognise and honour the value we and others bring. This means not simply getting the numbers equal, putting up quotes on websites or simply complying with laws. We must invite everyone to participate, to contribute and to co-create in order to realise our ambition to be creative, innovate and perform at the highest level—to be our best we all must show up completely, open hearted, and we have to invite others to do the same." -  Jason Sloan

Visit for more information: https://bit.ly/3EtABHm
For more about the City & Guilds Foundation, visit: https://cityandguildsfoundation.org/