Belfast Met Charitable Trust
Who We Are and What We Do
Belfast Met Charitable Trust (the Trust) was established in 2006 to celebrate the College’s centenary and over the years has had a positive impact on hundreds of learners.
The Trust supports programmes and projects that add value to the work of Belfast Metropolitan College (Belfast Met), with a focus on enabling access to learning and creating new opportunities for our learners.
While the Trust is a separate entity from Belfast Met, it has enhanced the work of the College over many years through partnership and integration. The Trust undertakes important work that mainstream college funding cannot support, and the College could not otherwise facilitate.
At Belfast Met, we believe that all learners should be able to fulfil their potential, and through the work of the Trust, we aim to overcome issues that can impact on learners enjoying full and equitable engagement in college life and learning.
Scholarship Scheme
The Student Scholarship Scheme is designed to give Belfast Met learners the opportunity to gain life changing training, work experience and knowledge in a chosen subject of study. Whether it be fashion and design, technology or catering, the Trust supports its learners by providing opportunities to access an award between £500 and £1,500.
Since it began the Trust has enhanced the career and life experience of over 160 Belfast Met learners. Some examples of successful learner applications funded or part-funded by the Trust include:
- Attending a week’s work experience at a two-star Michelin restaurant at Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland.
- Attending a two-week course on Prosthetic & SFX Make-up in Media City Salford.
- Attending a four-day Costume and Set Design Course in Wimbledon College, London.
- Undertaking a Degree course at Royal School of Needlework.
- Attending a Foundation Chocolate Course in Callebaut and the Chocolate Academy in Bradbury, Oxfordshire.
You can view our Student Scholarship Scheme Ceremony video if you scroll down this page.
Applications now Open for 2022 Scholarship Scheme – Apply now
Guidance on the Scheme and the application form are available in this Information Pack.
Completed applications (which must also contain endorsement from your course co-ordinator) must be submitted by 12 noon on the 30th March 2022.
Learner Welfare Challenges
In 2018 the Trust refocused its service provision on learner welfare issues that were impacting on learner engagement. Evidence of an increase in student hardship, budget pressures on support services, costs of courses, books, digital access and low levels of welfare support, prohibitive transport costs for many, and the mental health pressures, was of considerable concern.
The fallout from COVID-19 added even greater pressure to the Further Education Sector’s already stretched resources. With modest funding, the Trust was able to finance a range of interventions at short notice to support learners including:
- Provision of 100 dongles and Wi-Fi sims and 40 tablets for those experiencing digital poverty.
- Establishing a Breakfast Club and providing more than 1,400 free breakfasts to learners in Autumn 2019.
- Provision of 20 on-line Health and Wellbeing workshops to over 1,000 learners experiencing mental health pressures during COVID-19.
- Delivery of free hygiene products in all four of our college campuses to address period poverty.
- Provision of over 190 transport vouchers to learners struggling to cover the costs of travel to college.
Student Mentoring Programme
The Trust helped fund a college initiative to support learners from various backgrounds of disadvantage to secure the mentoring support they required to successfully complete their programme of study. This initiative supported learners who were:- Care experienced.
- Homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
- Single or young parents.
- Criminal justice experienced.
- Carers themselves.
The Learning Support Mentor supported their assigned learner with the organisation and management of their work. This helped ensure that they met course deadlines and course work schedules which may be under threat because of the nature of the particular challenges that they face.
The Future
In the coming years the Trust will continue to address a wide range of challenges facing our learners such as providing breakfast and food packs; assisting with transport costs; helping to cover costs associated with training for refugees; providing career-enhancing opportunities through our Scholarship Scheme or growing our learner volunteering activities and much more.
We Need Your Help
The Trust Funds have decreased considerably over the years because of the very necessary projects we have funded. The Trust has no other source of income other than through fundraising.To help continue to address the many challenges our students face we need your help. Money donated will go directly to help students on their educational journeys.
Please donate now! Go to www.givey.com and enter in “Belfast Metropolitan College Trust” to donate.
Get in touch
If you are aware of any challenges faced by learners or potential learners, or projects you believe the Trust could help support, please get in touch.Email: clerkgoverningbody[AT]belfastmet[DOT]ac[DOT]uk
Members of the Belfast Met Charitable Trust
Trustees are members of the College’s Governing Body or are independent of the College.Trustees oversee the running of the Trust in accordance with requirements of The Charity Commission NI.
Our current Trustees are:
Chair: