ABOUT US

 

Our mission is to help rebuild communities through short, skills based, bespoke training. 

Our vision is to

• empower learners with the opportunity to dream big 

• enable them with the tools they need

• ensure support so they attain their goals

 

Our social responsibility is to work towards reducing digital poverty and providing life skills around wellbeing, financial literacy and language that is key to community redevelopment and a sustainable workforce. 

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Our values are driven by our founder and Managing Director, Vidjea Gaikwad, who is passionate about empowering women. With roots in East London, Vidjea has worked most of her life with learners with ESOL requirements. Her motto is to put learners at the centre, which we all embrace at IGLS.

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VIDJEA GAIKWAD | MANAGING DIRECTOR

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I have lived and worked most of my adult life in East London. I come from an education background. From an ESOL volunteer tutor to Head of Apprenticeships, I have first hand experience working both in the front line and the trenches. War analogies not withstanding, I love coaching and mentoring, and feel at home creating strategies and systems. In 2020, after 19 long years, I took voluntary redundancy, so I could go travelling but COVID -19 had other plans.

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During the pandemic,  seeing how the lack of digital skills and devices perpetuated social exclusion and poverty in the most vulnerable,  I felt I needed to be part of the solution.  I have always talked about the things I would do differently if I were the CEO of a training institution.  I decided it was time to put my 'if I coulds' and woulds' to action and IGLS was born. 

I have always believed in a holistic approach to training i.e. to achieve a single outcome, multi disciplinary (adjacent) and resilience skills are to be developed as well. This belief helped shape IGLS' mission as well as led me to work with the third sector. 

 

IGLS has been fortunate to be working in partnership with some of the country's best community learning providers and charities. The work so far includes project management, design and delivery of bespoke workshops, and training programmes.