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We spoke to Queren Ngiay, student at Oxford Brookes University, about her experience of the Access Aspiration programme and how it has impacted her career so far. How did you come to be on the Access Aspiration programme? I first heard about Access Aspiration in sixth form when my homeroom teacher gave us an introduction

Ali Siddiqi took part in our Access Aspiration programme in 2018. He is now an Apprentice Surveyor at JLL. Here he shares his journey into work.  Access Aspiration opened doors for me and gave me opportunities I thought I would never have access to. Not only did it help my confidence and grow my self-esteem,

It’s now been two months since we launched My City and Me – a project that gives young Londoners a creative platform to tell their Covid-19 stories. We have also joined forces with the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York to connect NYC and London youth and share experiences of the pandemic. We have seen

Three months ago, the world changed. Lockdown was announced and instantly much of our daily lives and routines ground to a halt. Though it was difficult in those first few weeks to assess precisely how much low income families would be affected, we knew there was no time to lose. So, we turned to you.

by Phillip Jolly, Employment Programmes Manager at Mayor’s Fund for London Young Londoners are facing a time of uncertainty that none of us could have anticipated at the start of this year. Most students are losing out on classroom-based learning and face an unclear return to school in the autumn with social distancing and blended learning being discussed. Within the Mayor’s Fund, we’re

Social mobility in London is not sorted. Over the last few weeks, multiple new reports have shone a light on the fragmented social mobility landscape we see in our capital. Among other findings, our One City, Two Worlds report found that one in four young people from low-income backgrounds believe that ‘people like me’ do not

One in six (17%) children in the capital experience food insecurity, along with one in five adults (1.5 million Londoners), 36% of single parents and 32% of black Londoners. The survey also found that half (49%) of parents with children experiencing food insecurity are socially isolated. Sixteen percent of parents from food insecure households reported

Last month, The Sutton Trust, in collaboration with the Social Mobility Commission, published its excellent “Elitist Britain 2019” report. The research highlights how inequality is still very much entrenched in society, with executive powers across a range of industries in the hands of a relatively narrow section of the population. Media, civil service, and creative

Over the last few weeks, we’ve heard a lot about the impact of food insecurity from teachers who say worsening child poverty is harming learning because “most of my class arrive at school hungry and thirsty…” (BBC, 14.04.2019) and read research on ‘how going hungry affects children for their whole lives’ (Mosaic Science, 09.04.2019). And

By Sietske van der Ploeg, Head of Impact and Partnerships, Mayor’s Fund.  Recently, the media has lauded football players such as Raheem Sterling and Danny Rose for speaking up about the persistent racial abuse they receive whilst doing their job. The praise is deserved – these are young men who show courage in standing up

Our colleague, Sietske van der Ploeg is Head of Portfolio Performance and Social Impact at the Mayors’ Fund. Here she reflects on a conference she spoke at last week about identity and what it means in relation to the world of work: You may be familiar with research that demonstrates the long-term, scarring effects of unemployment

“University drop out, retail sales assistant and dreaming about making a difference through the media industry. When I came across the opportunity to join Creativity Works, I had just come back from volunteering with a film-team at a summer festival…another short-term opportunity. I was waiting for that big chance to arise to work full time