As part of its wider Equality City project FOR Cardiff has opened applications for the Equality City Leadership Development Programme.

Employees of FOR Cardiff member businesses can apply for the fully funded programme which aims to support individuals from under-represented backgrounds to develop their leadership and management skills.The scheme has been designed with people who are in the early stages of their careers in mind, particularly those who are looking to step into their first management position, but anyone who fits the eligibility criteria and works for a FOR Cardiff member business is welcome to apply.

The scheme is open to employees of FOR Cardiff member businesses who come from a background that is under-represented in professional fields. You can find out if your employer is a FOR Cardiff member by searching here

We are specifically encouraging applications from: disabled people, care-experienced people, people from Black, Asian, or other minority ethnic backgrounds, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and people who received free school meals. If you feel that you are from a background otherwise under-represented in professional fields, you are welcome to apply and explain your reason for doing so in your own words.

The fully funded Equality City Leadership Programme consists of six half-day (9:30AM-12:30PM) sessions from January to June 2026:

· Leading for Excellence: 23rd January 2026, City Centre Campus CAVC

There will be a focus in the workshop on leadership skills, attributes, and the characteristics of good leaders in line with current thinking. Individuals will explore the nature of leadership and their own leadership styles.  Contemporary leadership theories will be used to reflect the role of leadership in a variety of settings using the delegates own experiences enabling individuals to take practiced skills back to the workplace. 

· Understanding How to Organise and Delegate: 26th February 2026, Virtual

Delegation is the best way to make the most of your time and that of your team. This session will explore how delegation can not only help individuals organise their workload but also empower and motivate their teams.

· Performance Management (including Coaching and Mentoring): 19th March 2026, Virtual

This session will explore how managers can use performance management effectively within their roles. The following topics will be considered through participative activities and discussion enabling delegates to utilise these skills within their practice; 

 Defining and measuring performance (task performance, contextual performance & adaptive performance) 

• Setting objectives & expectations with staff 

• Performance reviews 

• Principles of good performance management 

· Resilience: 23rd April 2026, City Centre Campus CAVC

During this session delegates will explore personal resilience in relation to the management of a team. Using the 6 domains of workplace resilience, the session will highlight the importance of Vision, Composure, Reasoning, Heath, Tenacity and Collaboration. Each of the domains will be discussed with tools, tips and actions to take away.

· Building Your Strengths and Capabilities: 21st May 2026, City Centre Campus CAVC

Drawing on the discovery delegates will have gained from session 1 they will move to the identification of their own individual strengths with a focus on improving what they are already good at for personal growth. This session will help individuals discover their unique strengths (realised, unrealised and learnt behaviours) and use them to discover new ways of thinking and acting. 

· Team Building: 25th June 2026, City Centre Campus CAVC

This session will explore the process of building and maintaining a cohesive and efficient team.  Delegates will be encouraged to draw upon their Disc profiles in raising their awareness of the importance of effective teamwork and their role in creating and developing high performing teams.  

Apply to the scheme here. Applications close 11.59m on Sunday November 30th.