Welcome from the Chair, City & Guilds Foundation
Thank you for your interest in joining the Board of Trustees at the City and Guilds of London Institute (CGLI), now known as the City & Guilds Foundation. We have an incredibly exciting future ahead of us rooted in the learning from our history and our deep understanding of the role that skills can play in national renewal.
The Foundation traces its roots back to 1878, and we carry a Royal Charter that reflects the trust placed in us over the last nearly 150 years! I have been Chair now for nearly 3 months and that heritage is a privilege, but it’s also a responsibility which we take seriously. We have a lot to live up to, and we have been reflecting with humility and honesty on where we’ve fallen short recently and a clear commitment to doing better.
Our purpose is central to our work – helping people build the skills they need to thrive and helping close the gap between talent and opportunity wherever it exists. Right now, that means everything from funding skills programmes for people leaving prison to supporting employers and educators in building pathways that work for people who’ve been locked out of them.
As a Trustee, you would be joining us at a pivotal moment. We are strengthening governance, creating a new strategy, refreshing how we engage our wider community, and thinking hard about what kind of organisation we need to be for this next important chapter. That means we’re looking for Trustees who bring more than good intentions. We’re looking for people who ask sharp questions, who bring lived or professional expertise that challenges our thinking, and who are genuinely willing to roll up their sleeves and both to support and stretch our incoming Chief Executive and the wider team.
I am creating a Board in which there is transparency about the challenges we face, a culture that values candour over comfort, and a team who cares deeply about the mission and the work we still have to do.
Please do read the role profile and person spec with an open and curious mind-set and bring your own questions to the process. We are looking for a genuine fit in both directions.
Thank you again for considering this role. I very much look forward to the possibility of working with you.
Very best wishes,
Jessica
Jessica Leigh Jones MBE FCGI
Chair, City & Guilds Foundation