From education to employment

NIACE opens Equality and Diversity Innovation Fund

The £700,000 Equality and Diversity Innovation Fund for projects that advance equality, diversity and inclusion in adult education is now open for applications.

Managed by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), the fund offers grants of between £1,000 and £25,000 for schemes backed by the Skills Funding Agency.

These projects could include support for employers to take on more apprentices from a black or minority ethnic background, or who have a learning difficulty or disability.

They could also include measures that address gender-stereotyping or those that advance equality across protected characteristics such as sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and belief.

Joyce Black, head of the centre for life skills at NIACE, said: “It is evident from previous funds we’ve managed that even a small amount of funding can make a huge difference to individuals, their families and their communities. The Equality and Diversity Innovation Fund will help transform the futures of some of the most marginalised people in society by helping them to progress in ways that are most relevant to their lives.”

Natalie Thornhill


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