Cohort 2026 East Midlands Research Placement Project
About The Project
Stonebridge City Farm provides inclusive training opportunities within a real working environment. Their approach is built for people who are often poorly served by traditional education, training, or employment routes; including those living with disability, poor mental health, additional learning needs, or social isolation. Stonebridge sits within St Ann’s East, which falls within the top 5% most deprived areas in England, and the farm often finds itself buffering the impact of recruitment systems that were not designed with local people in mind.
There’s a recurring tension in this space. Applicants from deprived backgrounds find recruitment processes overwhelming and alienating, while employers often carry assumptions about younger or non-traditional candidates that shape how they recruit, assess, and invest in them. The gap is rarely just about communication; it’s often structural, shaped by inequalities in time, money, networks, cultural familiarity, and prior experience of systems.
Project Aims
The overall aims of the project are:
1. To evidence that names the structural side of recruitment barriers, not just “young people aren’t trying.” Useful in conversations with employers, funders, and policymakers.
2. To gain insight into how local recruiters actually think, which can help the farm prepare participants for what they’ll face.
3. To produce a report, and potentially a practical guide that supports their wider advocacy work.
Project Team
- Lead Supervisor: Andri Giorgiadou, University of Nottingham
- Academic Co-Supervisor: Matthew Gilmore-Young, Nottingham Trent Unviersity
- Community Supervisor: Rick Harrington, Stonebridge City Farm and Gardens
- Placement Candidate: Rita De Avillez