City & Guilds has announced that 47 training programmes will be recognised by the 2022 Princess Royal Training Awards.
Now in its seventh year, The Princess Royal Training Awards continue to recognise organisations truly demonstrating exceptional commitment to learning and development. With skills shortages across the UK increasing and job vacancies doubling, creating engaging learning programmes to grow and retain new and existing talent has never been more crucial.
From small not-for-profit organisations to large multinational employers, the recipients of the award continue to be refreshingly diverse and increasingly innovative in their approach to learning and development each year. Some strong themes have emerged from the programmes being awarded this year, including Inclusion & Diversity, quality cross-organisational apprenticeships, and access schemes designed to open up new talent pools.
An organisation responding to skills gaps by creating and implementing an award-winning apprenticeship programme was Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. As the second-largest local authority in Wales, the RCT Council identified an opportunity to invest in employment and training through the development of an apprenticeship programme. Over ten years, the programme has proved successful in providing careers and sustainable employment for local people, recruiting 280 apprentices, with 218 completions to date and job outcomes at 95%.
As one of the largest colleges in the UK, Cardiff and Vale College wanted to ensure high quality teaching provision by developing the digital skills and well-being of its staff. Through their award-winning training programme, over 200 employees gained professional qualifications, with benefits to staff and learner performance. The value of investing in these skills was confirmed during the Covid-19 pandemic, with a swift and confident transition to online-learning.
Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive of City & Guilds said:
“According to our Great Jobs research published earlier this year, we know that access to relevant skills development, training and qualifications is what motivates today’s workforce. It’s encouraging to see these organisations across Wales helping individuals in the region to access harder to reach jobs and progress within their career. The Princess Royal Training Awards demonstrate how training and development can open up opportunities and attract new talent to industries with significant skills gaps and labour shortages. Yet again, this year’s recipients have shown the range and depth of learning and development that is taking place in their own organisations to shape growth and positivity, from the power of skills development to address issues such as improving diversity and inclusion, through to programmes to address the ongoing impact of climate change.”
The Princess Royal Training Awards continue to support applicants to understand how to apply successfully for an award. This year saw the introduction of ‘tea and chat’ virtual drop-in sessions for applicants to ask any informal questions, along with a widening participation pilot scheme to help more diverse organisations apply. Training providers working in collaboration with employers can now be recognised when part of a successful application and previous recipients are encouraged to apply for revalidation.
For a full list of this year’s recipients and their training programmes please see the 2022 recipients page or you can find out how to apply for The Princess Royal Training Awards 2023 here.
