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March 31st is International Trans Day of Visibility and it鈥檚 a great opportunity for us to learn about trans and non-binary experiences in our college community.

HR Officer, Emily Coombes, has been working with staff at Coleg Gwent to help them learn more about trans and non-binary experiences, to ensure our college is a welcoming, supportive and inclusive place for all to learn and work.

For learner Arc, college has been the support they needed to thrive – 鈥淭he best thing about Coleg Gwent is the experience we get in this college and the fact that it is really accepting of who each individual is. There鈥檚 support readily available like counselling and the Inspire team, which gave me a chance to talk openly about things that I wouldn鈥檛 say to anyone else as I know its 100% confidential. It鈥檚 a better experience than 6th form. I鈥檝e been able to meet a lot of new people here and its more accepting than school is.鈥�

In an effort to continually improve our allyship for the trans and non-binary community, Emily and her team have brought in a new monthly lunch-and-learn session where staff across the college can learn about and discuss a wide range of contemporary topics and issues. One of these sessions has recently focused on trans and non-binary awareness, including listening to a podcast from around trans and non-binary experiences in the workplace.

The presenters were able to talk about their experiences and gave advice on how we can all be allies to our trans and non-binary friends inside and outside of the college community. Emily also recommends a great podcast to share with everyone today – 鈥� and a great documentary on Netflix called Disclosure, which is about the impact Hollywood has on the trans community. If you want to expand your knowledge and awareness to become an ally to the trans and non-binary community, these are worth checking out!

Meanwhile, in college, we have some fantastic pronoun pins available from the libraries at each campus for all staff and learners in the college. You can collect these free of charge and wear them with pride to show your allyship and support.

For learner Aiden, Coleg Gwent is an inclusive & diverse college and the pronoun pins have been a welcome addition! They explained – 鈥淚 feel like I get to be with my own people & have independence at college, which has encouraged me to be more open about myself. I like the new pronoun pins that are available from the library too. It鈥檚 really nice to finally have some recognition.鈥�

We continue to make steps towards becoming more inclusive all the time at Coleg Gwent and we can all learn to be allies. To find out more, have a look at the useful links below to improve your trans and non-binary awareness, and learn more about equality, diversity and inclusion at Coleg Gwent here: