Our community is at the heart of everything we do.

Over the last few years, we’ve expanded the ways we support you and your family. But we know that building the confidence to take that first step and ask for help can be one of the hardest things to do. At Foothold we'll do our best to make you feel supported and at ease so you can overcome whatever challenges you're facing with confidence.

Keep reading to understand what you can expect when you first reach out to us, and how we might be able to support you to get back on your feet. If you're ready to get in touch now, fill out our initial enquiry form.

To make the best use of our limited funding and to support as many engineers as we can, we may limit our support if your savings exceed the below:

£3,000 for student support
£16,000 for financial support
£16,000 for wellbeing support
£50,000 for care and disability support
Savings levels are adjusted depending on what country you live in

We understand that sometimes savings may be set aside for an essential future expense such as home repairs or retirement so please do not let that stop you from contacting us – we will always consider this.

For financial awards, we also take into account your household income and use the Minimum Income Standards published annually by Joseph Rowntree Foundation for guidance.

If you are or used to be a member of IET/IEE/IERE, we can help support you with:

Legal support
Work-life support (if you have been unemployed for at least 6 months)
Financial support
Autism support
Counselling and therapy grants
Care and disability grants
Mediation grants
Anxiety UK membership and therapy
Housing support
Sleep support
Wellbeing hub access

If you have an engineering connection, we can help support you and your family with:

Care and disability grants
Carer support
Wellbeing hub access

If you are an undergraduate student or an apprentice on an IET accredited course, with savings of less than £3000, and have ever been an IET member (even if your membership is no longer active), we offer financial and wellbeing support to help you complete your studies. This could include:

A student grant to cover essential living expenses
Learning support
Disability and carer support
Wellbeing hub access
All other support available to IET/IEE/IERE members

If you’re a post-graduate student on an engineering course, or who has studied engineering at undergraduate level, depending on your circumstances, we may be able to support you too.

Eligible students who believe they may be neurodivergent can also benefit from our Engineering Neurodiverse Futures programme, offering tailored support to help you finish your studies, achieve your career goals and reach your full potential.

To apply for this programme, you must:

Be aged between 16-25
Be studying your first engineering course
Agree to the programme terms and conditions.

You can also join our free Differently Wired Hub for engineers, a dedicated online resource which offers expert advice, information and content on a range of neurodiverse conditions including ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Tourette’s Syndrome.

Find out more about our Engineering Neurodiverse Futures programme and our Differently Wired Hub here.

We could help support you with care-related costs if you are or ever have worked or trained in engineering and technology. This could include:

respite care
home adaptations
breaks and activities for carers
Wellbeing hub access

We aim to help support the wellbeing of the entire engineering community, and that includes family members too. Each situation is unique but we may be able to support:

Partners of IET/IEE/IERE members
Parents with care and disability needs who live with the eligible person
Children under the age of 18
Grandchildren (wellbeing support, and support for people living with autism)
Partners of deceased IET/IEE/IERE members
Wellbeing hub access

You do not have to be currently employed as an engineer to apply for our support. If your work is linked to engineering, you may be eligible for:

All our online support – Wellbeing Hub, Differently Wired Hub, webinars, app, blogs
Care & disability grants including neurodiversity assessments/diagnosis
Carer support
Counselling grants

How to get in touch

The best way to get in touch with us is by filling out our initial enquiry form.

What happens next?

Once you’ve completed our initial enquiry form, we'll ask you for a few more details about your specific request.

Then one of the team will get back to you within two working days.

Financial support

This is our support for day-to-day living expenses or emergency financial support.

Once we have your information, we’ll make a decision and let you know the outcome.

We’ll make the payment directly into your bank account. Our payments are classified as ‘charitable gifts’ and won’t be taken into account if you apply for any benefits.

Please get in touch with us today - we're here to support you.

SUPPORT FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX

Sign up to our mailing list to receive expert advice to help you improve your financial, mental and physical wellbeing, so that you can live well every day. We'll also send you the latest news and updates, and information on how you can get involved with Foothold and support the engineering community.

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