Major UK businesses including RBS, Barclays, and Waitrose have been joined by a women’s refuge and an ambulance trust in being commended by Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne for their commitment to training and skills development.

The Haven Wolverhampton, which provides practical and emotional support services to women and children, and the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust are among the 40 organisations to be awarded with a Princess Royal Training Award. The list of awardees includes public and private sector businesses of all sizes, from areas including hospitality, healthcare, finance and manufacturing.

The exceptional businesses, chosen out of a long list of 116, will be honoured by HRH The Princess Royal for creating lasting impact by successfully linking their skills development needs to business performance. They will receive their awards in a ceremony due to take place this autumn.

Commenting on this year’s recipients, Chris Jones, Chief Executive of the City & Guilds Group said: ‘From household brands to leading charities, employers of all sizes across the UK are seeing real and tangible benefits of training and developing their people. The Princess Royal Training Awards provide both recognition and the opportunity to share best practice and its impact. I congratulate the 40 successful organisations who presented their evidence and achieved the standard required by the Award in 2017. They are worthy recipients of this prestigious and rigorous royal award and we are delighted to be able to deliver it through the City & Guilds Group.’

Find out who the recipients are, and more about them here.