The PA Foundation publishes second annual report and announces £2m+ in grants towards STEM and skills education in 2023

The PA Foundation has published its latest annual report, announcing that it distributed over £2 million of grant-based funding in 2023. This marks a doubling in funding from 2022, when The PA Foundation distributed over £1 million in its inaugural year.

The funds targeted initiatives that increase access to opportunities for people in underserved communities or those facing societal, cultural, or financial barriers. In partnership with PA Consulting, the global innovation consultancy, the report highlights The PA Foundation’s activities to support and inspire these people, particularly those at a disadvantage, to become the innovators and leaders of tomorrow. It also shares details of its work with 33 charity partners to bridge accessibility gaps in STEM, digital skills training, and employment.

In 2023, The PA Foundation has:

  • Distributed over £2 million in funding to 33 charity partners across the UK, US, Nordics, and the Netherlands
  • Commenced initiatives to reach more than 9,000 participants directly
  • Increased its support for marginalised groups, including refugees and migrants (11 percent of funding) and women and girls in STEM (53 percent of funding)

The PA Foundation provides financial support to charities that focus on improving education, skills, and employment outcomes. It partners with a diverse range of charities and non-profit organisations, including:

  • Ada, the National College for Digital Skills, to support the private sector in hiring apprentices and adopting inclusive recruitment processes, helping those from disadvantaged backgrounds to access apprentice roles, and empowering the next generation of diverse digital talent. This includes providing support on skills training and the development of soft skills for interview and selection processes​​​​​​​.
  • Big Friends, to support young people from low-income families in becoming more self-confident through mentoring and workshops. 
  • Coding Pirates, to support young people in Copenhagen in enhancing their IT skills and creativity by opening new coding clubs, including one at PA Consulting’s offices.

As well as financial support through The PA Foundation, charities also benefited from the contribution of PA people, who gave their time and expertise through volunteering. This includes in areas such as mentoring, digital skills training, career workshops, and pro-bono consulting work, which enabled charity partners to scale their impact.

Anita Chandraker, Chair of The PA Foundation Board of Trustees, said: “It has been a real pleasure to see how our partnership with our founding donors, PA Consulting, and our supporters has grown. We are proud to have distributed over £2 million of grant-based funding in 2023, and see that our funding to charitable organisations can be further amplified and enriched through PA volunteers. I was pleased to see PA deliver thousands of hours of volunteer time in 2023, which our charity partners have really benefited from.”

Kully Janjuah, Group Company Secretary of PA Consulting, and a trustee of The PA Foundation, said: “I am proud of what The PA Foundation has achieved to date, and the tangible impact it is having across so many geographies.  We are taking clear steps to address inequalities, whether that be helping migrants and refugees to access the job market in new countries, or providing employment support for people with disabilities.  We look forward to building on our existing partnerships and increasing our efforts to raise awareness of the issues in society that we are collectively working to solve.”

 

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