• HRH The Princess Royal, President of City & Guilds Group, recognises organisations whose training has delivered measurable business impact  
• 39 businesses celebrated at virtual ceremony for their innovative training programmes in the Princess Royal Training Award’s fifth year 
• Despite the challenges of Covid, recipients from a wealth of sectors including health and social care, manufacturing, retail and technology all proved the value of investing in L&D to address a wide range of business needs 

15 December 2020: City & Guilds Group has today celebrated 39 UK businesses receiving a prestigious Princess Royal Training Award in a virtual Awards Ceremony.

The Princess Royal Training Awards recognise employers across the United Kingdom who deliver outstanding training and development programmes that have had a direct impact on their people and organisations. 2020 winners demonstrated exceptional commitment to training, learning and development, despite facing unprecedented challenges of Covid-19. 

Organisations can apply for an Award with any kind of training, learning or development initiative that is being used to address a business challenge as long as they are able to evidence increased business impact as a result.  

This year applications were made from a wide range of organisations ranging from large multi-nationals through to public sector bodies and small charities. 2020 recipients include household names such as Royal Mail Group, The Co-op, HMRC and IBM and smaller businesses and non-profits including Springhill Hospice, IT agency Netmatters and local radio station Gateway 97.8. Four organisations achieved Awards for two separate programmes: Covance Laboratories Limited; Exponential-e; HMRC and Serco Group.

Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive of the City & Guilds Group said: “This year organisations have faced challenges like no other but we have continued to receive high quality applications showing the value that employers are still placing on training their employees. We know that a highly skilled workforce is essential as we start to rebuild our economy post Covid-19, and in increasingly uncertain times making sure we invest in our employees has never been more important.”  

“Whilst our celebration event of these 39 organisations, this year, is different – we are really pleased to bring them together virtually to recognise their commitment to learning and development.” 

Previous winners have reported a number of benefits arising from the Awards, including increased investment into training programmes, improved recruitment and retention, and getting HR and Learning & Development to the table when it comes to business strategy: all of which will be useful as businesses work towards recovery post-COVID. 

For the full list of recipients and their training programmes, please see the 2020 recipients page.