Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Impact Report 1 October 2022 30 September 2023
We – the Goldsmiths’ Centre – support the jewellery and silversmithing industry to embrace learning as an essential lifelong practice. We aim to be open, accessible, and inclusive to all as an organisation and through the work we support. Since 2020, our charity has worked with the Goldsmiths’ Company and Goldsmiths’ Company Charity to create an inclusive environment and increase diversity in the jewellery industry. We have worked across the team and with support of our Community Advisory Group (CAG) to review our activities. We believe that being transparent about our progress will keep us accountable moving forward. In this report, you will discover our future aspirations and the actions that we have taken so far.
#1 Understand, define and improve equity, diversity and inclusion within the Goldsmiths’ Centre’s community and team.
What is our focus for 2023 - 2024: • Undertake regular training on different areas of EDI that are relevant to the team’s personal development and the Goldsmiths’ Centre’s work. • Ensure accessible recruitment and application processes to help build and foster an inclusive environment. • Celebrate individuals in our community to increase visibility and inspire others to engage with the Goldsmiths’ Centre and the industry.
Our progress so far Brand foundations A website engagement audit was carried out in November 2022 in consultation with our Community Advisory Group (CAG). Our team is now working with an appointed agency and key stakeholders to describe the Goldsmiths’ Centre, its purpose and values in the simplest terms. This work will help to develop consistent language and tone of voice across all platforms.
EDI training Facilitated by The Diversity Trust, training is being conducted with the aim to advance the capacity of our team to develop and deliver training programmes and community engagement projects, which fully include socially disadvantaged or marginalised groups, communities and individuals. The team took part in transgender awareness training in July 2023, delivered by trans trainers, enabling the team to learn more, discuss and ask questions in a confidential setting. This training resulted in the optional use of pronouns in email signatures, non-binary and unspecified titles in application forms and adapting toilet signage to offer gender-neutral facilities.
Community Advisory Group Our newly appointed Community Advisory Group (CAG) members met for the first time in November 2021 with the Goldsmiths’ Centre team, bringing together knowledge and experience from across education, outreach, grant giving, diversity, programming and marketing. CAG provides external advice on how to broaden access to and visibility of our charity’s programmes amongst young people, and underrepresented and under-supported communities aspiring to enter or working in the industry.
London Living Wage Since 2018 the Goldsmiths’ Centre has worked with its partners to offer the real London living wage. Accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, all staff working at the Goldsmiths’ Centre from front to back of house are paid a wage that meets every-day needs. This has helped our charity to retain existing staff and attract new team members, whilst supporting everyone to live better lives.
From the moment I stepped through the doors of the Goldsmiths’ Centre my life and horizons changed for the better. ~ Brand workshop participant and programme alumnus
#2 Reach and engage underrepresented and undersupported individuals and communities better and more effectively.
What is our focus for 2023 - 2024: Build on relationships with organisations and individuals to increase opportunities and facilitate networking for people under-represented in our industry. Ensure our website is simple to use and reflects the communities we wish to engage.
Our progress so far Online delivery and pay what you can Initiated by the pandemic in 2020, we opened up participation via online delivery, enabling members of the industry and our wider community to take part in skills training programmes, talks and showcasing opportunities from across the UK, from the comfort of their workshop or home. Plus, to ensure cost is not a barrier to participation, many of our programmes, such as our online talks, are now free to attend or are accessible on a ‘pay what you can’ basis.
Access Grants We launched our new Access Grants in February 2022 enabling people to attend our technical or business skills short course for free. By providing up to £500 to cover one training course per calendar year, we helped to break down barriers to accessing training and awarded 24 Access Grants in 2022/23.
Creative Links goes on tour Our monthly Creative Links talks and networking events, designed for emerging makers and creative start-ups, provoke thoughts and questions which enable attendees to reflect on where they are and how to get to where they want to be with their business. In partnership with the Scottish Goldsmiths Trust’s Elements Festival and Ulster Museum, the Goldsmiths’ Centre took its programme onto the road in 2023 for the first time, linking up makers not just online but also in person across the regions of the UK.
Use of closed captioning for online delivery For Getting Started Online 2023, our team trialled the use of closed captioning on Zoom. This functionality is now available for all online delivered programmes and enables course participants to listen to and participate in discussions through a live transcription of the person speaking. Digital content produced is more easily accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing community, people with learning disabilities and individuals whose native language is not English.
I’ve found the programme very therapeutic. It takes the edge off life to be honest. As soon as I step into the environment, the room, anxieties go away. It’s seeing everybody - you’re always seeing a smile at least. ~ Pivot participant
Fairer application and selection processes In 2022 we established a fair and transparent application and selection process by anonymising applicants’ details across all programmes, introducing video applications, demystifying programmes through live Q&As and broadening criteria to include applicants from diverse backgrounds. We now anonymise all applications during selection processes, recruit external selection panels to provide a diversity of expertise and experience. We have also increased the representation of those from Global Majority backgrounds on our selection panels.
Simplified website navigation and language Following consultation in November 2022 with the CAG, internal stakeholders and agency consultation, a new simplified website navigation was mapped out to create a better user experience. Now users are more easily guided to relevant content, resulting in increased engagement with our learning and support programmes. Written content is also continuously being reviewed, shortened and simplified to ensure our initiatives are better understood by all our users.
Pivot Pivot, an award-winning social enterprise, empowers people experiencing homelessness to design, make and sell jewellery. Usually taking jewellery making directly into hostels, Pivot’s creative skills training programme and selling pop-up event was delivered for the first time in spring 2023 at the Goldsmiths’ Centre. This was made possible through donations from Goldsmiths’ Company members to its 1327 Fund.
Committing to sustainability and new partnerships Sustainability goes beyond our environmental footprint. It also encompasses our human rights and social responsibility. In November 2023, the Copenhagen Commitment hosted its first two-day panel discussion and exhibition in partnership with the Goldsmiths’ Centre, leading to an open and safe space for debate on how transparency and collaboration can lay the foundation for an ethical, responsible, and honest future in the jewellery industry.
I’ve had the best day today at the Goldsmiths’ Centre on their Introduction to CAD and Rhino course with Jasmin Karger. Super excited to have been awarded their Access Grants which makes professional course like these more accessible! ~ Catriona Donald, Access Grant recipient
Business Catalyst (Small) Grants The Survey of Black Jewellers (2020) discovered that 77% of respondents felt a lack of funds was the most common obstacle for Black jewellers entering the industry. After a successful pilot project in 2022, we relaunched our Business Catalyst (Small) Grants in support of up to twelve business owners who are underrepresented in the industry and face socio-economic barriers. Made possible through donations made by Goldsmiths’ Company to the 1327 Fund, our £1,000 grants help start-up businesses by providing access to essential equipment, marketing tools or specialist knowledge.
SilverHub/Flourish CIC: Fusion Programme 2022 Founded in 2020 by the Silverhub Studios in Edinburgh, the Flourish Jewellery Community Interest Company (CIC) is a socially engaged craft project empowering marginalised groups and individuals through the act of making. Its Glow Programme supported twelve women in 2022 with a history of trauma, as a result of poverty, disability, mental health challenges and domestic violence, through access to a 32week, part-time programme of jewellery design and making. The Goldsmiths’ Centre funded the project with a £11,600 grant 2022 thanks to the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity.
#3 Encourage more young people from under-represented communities into jewellery, silversmithing and the allied industries.
What is our focus for 2023 - 2024: Collaborate with technical colleges and organisations to raise awareness of careers in the jewellery industry. Keep abreast of research and challenges facing young people and help to facilitate access to our programmes.
Our progress so far Artists in Residence Artists in Residence (AIR) brings high-quality artist residencies to schools across the UK. These residencies not only offer young people the chance to develop practical artistic skills but offer an insight into what a career in the arts may look like. Through £20,000 of Collaborative Funding, the Goldsmiths’ Centre worked in partnership in 2023 with AIR and three of its resident jewellers, Ellis Mhairi Cameron, Emefa Cole and Ben Hawkins, and Samantha Chilton, to develop and host hands-on workshops at Alperton Community School, Bellfield Junior School, Hatch End and Heathlands Primary Schools in London. Students were thoroughly engaged throughout the process, sculpting designs in copper, brass and clay before seeing them cased with metal pewter to make rings, pendants and other keepsakes.
The Creative Dimension Trust Since 2017, we have supported The Creative Dimension Trust (TCDT), a charitable incorporated organisation that enables 14- to 19-year-olds from underrepresented backgrounds to develop fine hand skills with leading, international specialists, through taking part in free workshops. Through an £8,000 grant from the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity, TCDT will be delivering two one-week jewellery making Summer Schools for the first time in August 2023 at the Goldsmiths’ Centre, as well as two five-day workshops in Autumn and Spring 2023, introducing up to 40 young people to the craft.
Partnering with the Culture Mile As part of the Culture Mile Learning Partnership, the Goldsmiths’ Centre provided young people with tours of our workshops during Careers Week. In July 2023, resident jewellers Sam Salmons and Laura Bezant provided two young people with work experience. Sam took the time to show two young people how to make a silver ring whilst Laura helped them to carve an ‘S’.
Thank you AIR for organising our pewter jewellery making workshop this morning with the Goldsmiths’ Centre. Our students, and staff, thoroughly enjoyed it. We learnt a lot from Ellis Mhairi Cameron, Emefa Cole, Elisavet Messi and Julia Skilton. ~ Teacher at Hatch End
New shoots in the Midlands For the first time in its 700-year history, the Goldsmiths’ Company Apprenticeship scheme expanded outside of London and the South-East into the Midlands, welcoming four young people specialising in setting, diamond mounting, silversmithing, CAD/CAM design and hand engraving onto the scheme. Delivered by the Goldsmiths’ Centre on behalf of the Company, the expansion ensures the creation of skilled jobs and high standards of training across the UK, giving more young people the opportunity to start a career in our industry.
The Creative Mentors Foundation The Creative Mentors Foundation is a charity that provides mentorship in schools for young people with learning differences, giving access to art, design, music and drama. In 2022, a £6,300 grant from the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity funded the establishment of a jewellery workshop at Haberdasher Aske School in Borough, London, as well as weekly jewellery making sessions for year groups 7-10, benefitting 40 students across the year. A Continuing Professional Development (CPD) session was delivered in 2023 to 8 teachers, alongside training for the new Design and Technology teacher. A group of students visited the Goldsmiths’ Centre to see the Foundation Programme workshops and exhibition. In addition, Creative Mentor Alice McClean supported the development of a resource for schools in collaboration with Roger Taylor at the Argentium Guild.
Support to young people on the Foundation Programme Foundation Programme trainees, who have declared a learning need, are contacted at the beginning of the academic year to assess what suitable adaptations need to be made to their training. They also take part in a VARK test to establish their learning preference, whether that is visual, auditory, reading/writing or kinaesthetic. Trainees can also borrow laptops from the Goldsmiths’ Centre to carry out their course work for the academic year, if they do not have access to IT equipment at home. Funded by the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity, our Foundation Programme Support Grants are available if you have been enrolled onto the training programme. With a maximum grant of £1,500 (including VAT) per applicant, these grants are designed to help young people to successfully participate in the training course, contributing to travel or other living costs.
Every time I got the chance, I would bend somebody's ear and ask ‘Why can't I have an apprentice in the Midlands?’ Vipa have always trained people, but the prospect of a Goldsmiths’ Company apprentice is a game changer. ~ Peter Crump, Director for Vipa Designs
Diversity data factsheet Data showing the latest trends in the total number of applicants, relating to gender, disability, ethnicity and social mobility. The anonymous data is drawn from the Goldsmiths’ Centres’ administration systems and is a snapshot report covering 1 October 2022 - 30 September 2023.
Foundation Programme Young people aged 16+
37
10
Total number of applications
Places on the Foundation Programme awarded
20%
16%
8%
of applicants identified as from BAME background
of applicants were eligible for Free School Meals
of applicants identified as having a disability, impairment or long term health condition
Non Binary 3%
Female 48.5% Male 45.5%
Access Grants Jewellers, silversmiths and people working in the UK industry.
25
24
Total number of applications*
grants awarded
21%
37%
33%
of applicants were eligible for Free School Meals
of applicants identified as having a disability, impairment or long term health condition
of applicants identified as from BAME background
*EDI data is based on 19 applications, 4 applicants applied twice for an Access Grant and supplied EDI data in 2021/22.
16 - 24 5%
Non Binary 5%
45 - 54 32%
Male 11%
25 - 34 37%
Female 79%
Gender
35 - 44 26%
Age of applicants
Getting Started Online UK based creative start-ups.
92
81
Total number of applications
places on the course awarded
17%
15%
29%
of applicants were eligible for Free School Meals
of applicants identified as having a disability, impairment or long term health condition
of applicants identified as from BAME background
Male 11.9%
Non Binary 2%
55 - 64 11.9%
65 - 74 2%
16 - 24 19.8%
45 - 54 12.9%
35 - 44 15.8%
Gender
Female 85.1%
Age of applicants
25 - 34 37.6%
At the Goldsmiths’ Centre, we support the jewellery and silversmithing industry to embrace learning as an essential lifelong practice. Our mission is to foster capability at every link in the chain, making ongoing professional development visible and accessible to all. Through technical courses and business support, affordable workspace, funding opportunities and events we aim to close the industry’s skills gap, so that creativity, craftsmanship and community can thrive. Thank you to all members of the Goldsmiths’ Company whose donations, via the Goldsmiths’ Company Charity 1327 Fund, have helped to contribute to many of the Goldsmiths' Centre's community engagement and new initiatives. goldsmiths-centre.org @gsmithscentre The Goldsmiths' Centre
We have chosen to use the following terminology in the update: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME); and underrepresented groups which includes people from low income backgrounds. We recognise that language around race, ethnicity and diversity is contested, nuanced and changing and we will aim to use the most widely accepted terms.