Social enterprises receive £100K in grants for underrepresented young people

By Jacob Paul

An organisation developing talent in the creative and tech industries has awarded £100k in grants to social enterprises to fund programmes for underrepresented young people.

Stride, Lambeth council’s collaborative programme has been also been backed by Lewisham, Southwark and Wandsworth.

Stride launched a new Talent Development Innovation Fund in August, seeking ideas to tackle the lack of diversity in the creative and tech industries.

Round one of the fund will see grants go to six projects that will provide training and career opportunities for young people.

The programmes offer pathways into careers including architecture, design, film-making, advertising, web development and technology.

One of the projects, RE—SET—GO from We Made That, is an accessible, hands-on paid workplace experience and mentoring programme established with the mission of diversifying architecture practices.

Nisha Kurian, an Associate from We Made That said:“It’s indisputable that greater diversity and representation within the architecture sector benefits everybody.

“If we want to be serious about promoting diversity and inclusion within the architecture profession, we as industry professionals need to be proactive in creating pathways and opportunities for access into the sector for people from lower-income and underrepresented backgrounds.”

The Voltage Revolution by Do It Now Now, helps young Black people in South London aged 18-24 to access the people they need to know and the knowledge they need to have to get to where they want to go.

Chocolate Films is launching Establishing Shot, a careers initiative for young underrepresented South Londoners to access the film industry.

Create Jobs, powered by A New Direction, is an employability programme for young Londoners, offering training programmes designed with leading creative employers.

TalentPath by LDN Apprenticeships is an opportunity for motivated young people, who are looking to start a rewarding career in a high potential industry.

The School of Communication Arts are supporting the next generation of copywriters, art directors and advertising creatives that the industry by offering 20 scholarships to join their course.

Round 2 of Stride’s Talent Development Innovation Fund will launch in 2021, providing another opportunity to apply for funding for initiatives that support diverse talent in South London.

If you are from Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark or Wandsworth and interested in getting into the creative and tech industries, visit www.stride.london to find out more about how to get involved.

Pictured: Wealdstone Youth Workshop; We Made That working with a group of 16-19 year olds to develop and deliver furniture components for use in a new town square © Thomas Adank