Almost from their
earliest times the ancient guilds undertook a responsibility
for the education and training of young people. Training
apprentices in the skills of their craft or trade was an
important part of a liveryman's duties. Modern livery
companies actively promote apprenticeship schemes as the best
way to provide thorough training, especially in the
specialised technical skills which are in demand
today.
The Livery has been involved in university
education for many centuries, often as founder or funder of the
more ancient institutions and, with the growth of higher education
in the nineteenth century, this support grew considerably.
Companies helped to found the technical colleges or institutes
which were essential if Britain were to keep up with other
industrialised countries.
Support continues with the endowment of chairs
and the supply of expensive equipment together with scholarships
and bursaries for young people to study for scientific and
technical careers. One of the best known examples of the Livery
contribution towards higher and vocational education is the City
& Guilds London Institute, which was founded in 1878 by the
City of London and 16 livery companies. It has since received
ongoing support from the Livery.
The majority of livery companies have also
formed close links with schools, helping pupils to gain the best
possible broad-based education - whether by providing a governor to
advise on financial and management issues, by support in kind for
project work, or by financial help for things the school budget
cannot fund.
Wealthy liverymen or their widows often set up
trusts to found schools which were left to their company to
administer after their death. Many of these still flourish, among
them Aldenham's, Howell's, Bancroft's, Gresham's, Oundle,
Haberdashers' Aske's Schools, Colfe's, the two St Paul's schools,
Dame Alice Owen's, Merchant Taylor's schools, Tonbridge,
Wolverhampton Grammar and Foyle and Londonderry College, Northern
Ireland. The original trusts still provide support for most of
them.
Many other schools throughout the country benefit from Livery
support in a variety of ways and at differing levels of
expenditure. Often, the sharing of expertise and the giving of time
can be as valuable as financial help.
The City of London's own schools and the Lord
Mayor Treloar College for disabled people also benefit from the
involvement of a number of livery companies.