Celebrating the success of Edinburgh’s young people with King’s Trust

Written by Georgina Bowyer, UKSPF Grants Manager, Capital City Partnership  

King’s Trust Scotland Awards 2026

The UKSPF team were pleased to attend the King’s Trust and TK Maxx Scotland Awards last week, held on 22 January 2026 at the Voco Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow.  The event celebrated seven individuals and recognised one community group for outstanding achievements in education, employment, enterprise, and social impact. The awards marked the charity’s 50th anniversary year and highlighted the 6,000+ young people supported by the King’s Trust Scotland in the last year alone. Congratulations to all the winners and we wish you well for the UK-wide awards taking place in the summer.

Success in Edinburgh

Through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) in Edinburgh, the King’s Trust has been supporting young people to find their first steps into employment or enterprise.  The programmes on offer help young people to build skills and gain confidence and navigate pathways into work.

A recent Edinburgh success story that was shared with us focuses on Rhys, a young man who joined The King’s Trust Scotland’s Get Into Lifeguarding with Edinburgh Leisure programme.  Rhys was unsure about his next steps after leaving school with National 4 qualifications, but with encouragement from his Careers Advisor, joined the programme.  It aligned perfectly with his interests in swimming, fitness, and learning new skills.

Through the programme, Rhys developed lifeguarding and water safety skills; CPR and First Aid knowledge; and communication and interview confidence.  He enjoyed the training and enjoyed working with others while building new skills. His main goal was to achieve the National Pool Lifeguarding Qualification (NPLQ)—a key requirement for future employment in the sector.

Rhys successfully completed his NPLQ and is now employed part-time with Edinburgh Leisure as a Leisure Attendant.  He hopes to use this as a stepping stone toward returning to college in the future.

Rhys’ achievement reflects the meaningful impact that King’s Trust Scotland has on young people in Edinburgh and beyond.  Whilst UK Shared Prosperity funding is coming to an end soon, the King’s Trust work in Edinburgh will continue thanks to alternative funding streams.  To find out more about services offered in Edinburgh, you can visit the King’s Trust website here.