YGAM makes changes following BAME communities review

Gambling charity Young Gamers & Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) has begun making organisational changes following a review of its engagement with BAME communities.

YGAM, which seeks to educate and safeguard young people in relation to gambling, commissioned Clearview Research to undertake a six-month independent evaluation of its charitable and educational resources to help understand how to effectively engage with ethnic minority communities.

The review came in the wake of the GambleAware-commissioned Clearview Research report, entitled ‘Gambling: a young BAME perspective’, which found there is a lack of awareness amongst minority communities regarding the help and support which is available for problem gamblers.

The first phase of the evaluation was to conduct an external audit of YGAM as an organisation and its ‘In The Know’ booklet. This included a review of YGAM’s website, social media channels, staff team, senior leadership team and the board of trustees.

The second phase involved working closely with a co-creation group of seven people aged between 16 and 35 from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background to further develop YGAM’s strategy of delivering culturally appropriate materials and services that meet the needs of those from BAME communities.

Based on the evidence gathered in three co-creation group discussions, as well as all the insights the charity gathered to shape its strategy of delivering culturally appropriate materials and services, Clearview Research has presented a number of recommendations which the YGAM team has already started to implement.

“We have been talking to Clearview Research since October 2019 however we have seen this piece of work become more relevant and important than ever in recent months," YGAM operations director Kev Clelland said. "We are proud of our progress however more work still needs to be done by this sector to safeguard every young person and we are committed to lead the way.”

Meanwhile, YGAM has been awarded City & Guilds Assured status for a second year. The certification is based on an assessment of organisations' training and educational programmes, looking at planning and management, programme delivery, participant support, quality assurance and ongoing development of the frameworks.

The charity became one of the first organisations be to awarded City & Guilds Assured status last year and it has achieved this benchmark again following a robust evaluation process. YGAM said it has now chosen to work exclusively with City & Guilds for all certifications, across all educational programmes and resources.

“Our team have very much enjoyed working with and learning from colleagues at City & Guilds," YGAM chief executive Lee Willows said. "Listening to our customers they really value the City & Guilds Digital Credentials as well as electronic certification.

We are looking forward to extending our portfolio of courses with City & Guilds as this year progresses.”