Our ambition

Learning new skills is a wonderful gift in and of itself but it is also an essential step for people to progress. Training and qualifications are only worthwhile if they support development and progression, improve productivity or help to fill skills gaps.

At City & Guilds we have long championed the value of skills to help people into a job, progress on the job and move into the next one. In fact helping people, organisations and economies to develop their skills for growth is our core purpose.

That is why we have ourselves a bold ambition to understand, measure and report on the societal impact we are having across every touch point in all of our activities, markets and sectors.

Our Foundation impact to date

In delivering our goal of enhancing opportunities in skills and work, we are dedicated to ensuring that our work makes a real difference in people’s lives and we are proud of the impact that our work has had to date.

Recent highlights have included:

Our Impact Across the UK

As part of our Impact journey we have looked much deeper into how we are supporting people, organisations and society in each part of the UK to develop their skills for growth, gathering progression data from learners to see where they go next, and the social value of the skills, knowledge and capabilities they develop. You can find a breakdown of the impact of City & Guilds skills solutions across the UK below.

East of England

HMP Highpoint, Suffolk

HMP Highpoint, working with Intertrain to develop rail track programme: 81% of those released are now in employment.

Netmatters, Norwich

Netmatters was awarded a Princess Royal Training Award and a DEI commendation for its successful Scion Coalition Scheme. They have shown a clear commitment to meeting regional skill gaps by upskilling unemployed candidates to become junior developers in the tech industry. As well as a focus on encouraging females in, to greater reflect diversity in what is usually a male dominated career. Find out more about Netmatters’ programme here.

London

Amey W@A network

W@A network was created in 2017 by Amey PLC and is comitted to promoting gender inclusion by supporting women at all stages of their career and was awarded a Princess Royal Training Award and DEI commendation. Since the launch, there has been an increase of female representation from 25% to 30% and a 4% increase in women in senior leadership roles from 14% to 18%. Find out more about the award-winning programme here.

Bart’s Hospital Trust

Bart’s Hospital Trust are one of the biggest NHS Trusts delivering City & Guilds leadership & teaching programmes, with 234 people completing ILM Level 2 – 4 Leadership and Management courses in the past 12 months, (799 in the last 5 years).

Young Learner Advisory Team in Parliament

The Young Learner Advisory Team has been supporting our Board of Trustees and the Executive Team with lived experience and perspectives that mean the learner’s voice is heard and considered as part of all key decision-making, which will increase reach, engagement, and completion.  In their role as YLAT, Melissa, Princess, Jarrishan and Tanaka were invited to attend the celebratory reception at the Houses of Parliament on Monday 5 February, to recognise national finalists honoured for their outstanding apprenticeship delivery and provision across the sector. Find out more about the Young Learner Advisory Team here.

North East England

Gateshead College

Gateshead College has partnered with City & Guilds to offer the Rail Track Engineer course to offer career advancements in the rail industry. Learners such as military veterans and individuals facing barriers have successfully completed the course, gaining essential qualifications and finding fulfilling careers in the industry. “This course was a second chance for me and I loved every aspect of it. I would highly recommend this course to anyone and I really love my career.”

Northern Ireland

Belfast Metropolitan College

Belfast Met winning the Princess Royal Training Award has led to an increased budget for learning and development. As well as this, health and wellbeing was placed higher on the agenda leading to better support for staff and an increased uptake of Health and Wellbeing Week. Find out more about the programme.

North West England

Catch22, Manchester

City & Guilds Foundation supported Catch22 to offer additional wraparound employability and mentoring support to individuals seeking employment with NetZero jobs. Initially, the team had expected their mentor to engage with 25 people – but they have supported 39 people. There have been several learnings from the team, including the practicalities around supporting disadvantaged people who often have little knowledge of the green jobs landscape and the jobs that can contribute to the net-zero agenda. Read more about this programme.

Kirklees College, Huddersfield

Kirklees College offers City & Guilds qualificiations to students such as Callum. Callum studied a Level 2 Apprenticeship in Plumbing and following the apprenticeship he commented that he was ‘most proud of gaining an Apprenticeship and doing well in practical and theory classes.’

Groundworks, Manchester

Groundwork Green Start programme has supported 79 offenders with in-demand green construction skills through a 12-week training and employment support, maximising their chances of finding jobs upon release from HMP Forest Bank and HMP Styal. Read more about this programme.

Scotland

North East Scotland College / Shell partnership, Aberdeen

NE Scotland College has partnered with Shell to pilot Electric Vehicle Charging Installations Qualification: 9 trainers qualified, who then taught 27 apprentices, with 19 achieving the qualification and has helped raise the profile of the colleges as educators in green skills.

The King’s Foundation / Dumfries House, Ayrshire

The King’s Foundation at Dumfries House delivers Introduction to Hospitality to young people with barriers to work. This year, 16 City & Guilds qualifications were awarded, with 75% expressing an increase in confidence and 75% progressing into employment.

South West England

University of West England / Project ReMake

In partnership with the University of West England, Project ReMake secured funding from the City & Guilds Foundation to deliver enterprise education to previously incarcerated people who can earn ILM 3 qualificatons. This was delivered online by UWE Bristol academics and industry experts over 8 weeks. As a result of the funding, research can be undertaken into all cohorts in 2023-2024 to specifically explore the impact on participant self-efficacy, employment, and reoffending. Find out more about our prison impact including a panel with Dr Kameel Khan, founder of Project ReMake.

Wales

Cardiff & Vale College

Cardiff and Vale College’s work coach has helped over 70 refugees, asylum seekers, and ethnic minorities find employment through workshops, interview prep, and clothing assistance. The work coach is working specifically on understanding the needs of Cardiff’s refugee and asylum seeker / ethnic minority community.

Gower College, Swansea

Gower College’s programme has been a success, helping 532 young people who might not have gone to college and providing them with qualifications and opportunities for further education or employment. Out of those who completed the program, 106 achieved qualifications and 44 progressed into higher education, apprenticeships, or employment within six months. Find out more about the Gower College programme.

Volunteer It Yourself, Cardiff

Collaborative project with Volunteer It Yourself, at Gabalfa Youth and Community Centre, where all young people with barriers to work gained an Entry Level 3 Construction qualification.

Welsh Language Commissioner Cynnig Cymraeg

City & Guilds has been awarded the prestigious ‘Cynnig Cymraeg’ from the Welsh Language Commissioner, in recognition of the organisation’s commitment to offering services in the Welsh language. Find out more about Cynnig Cymraeg on the Welsh Language Commission website.

West Midlands

Beating Time in partnership with The Recruitment Junction, Birmingham

Funding was awarded for the ‘Inside Job’ initiative that helps to find jobs for people during their sentence. This project will benefit over 400 inmates at 4 HMPs across the West Midlands and 1 HMP in North East England. Find out more about this initative and others funded through the Future Skills Commission for Prisons ‘Big Idea Fund’.

Burton and South Derbyshire College

Burton and South Derbyshire College is pioneering the offering of hydrogen qualifications to develop the new Level 3 Award in Knowledge of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles and Components.

Positive Youth Foundation

Positive Youth Foundation helps 100 newly arrived young people develop vital employability skills and English proficiency. 53 participants completed the qualifications and received certificates. Find out more about Positive Youth Foundation’s programme.

St Giles, HMP Drake Hall

St. Giles is working in HMP Drake Hall to train 15 young women to become youth workers. The program provides Level 3 Youth Work Practice certification and includes supported work placements, along with practical and emotional support in custody and post-release. The aim is to address any obstacles hindering the women’s employment prospects. Find out more about the St Giles funding through the Future Skills Commission for Prisons ‘Big Idea Fund’.

Our Global Impact

Argentina

Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF)

Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF), one of the largest companies in the Latin American energy sector, faced challenges in engaging and educating its diverse workforce, including external employees, due to limitations in its existing learning platform. YPF transformed its learning ecosystem using Totara TXP, creating a comprehensive solution for employee development, performance management, and operational quality assurance. The platform significantly improved course completion rates (from 8% to 60%), centralised content distribution, and increased learner interaction, resulting in successful live classes with 16,000 attendees.

Techint Group – Roberto Rocca Technical School Campus

Techint Group, a multinational conglomerate, partnered with Kineo to establish the Roberto Rocca Technical School Campus. The platform aimed to provide high-quality education and training in underserved communities. Key initiatives included teacher training, community-centric programs, and digital transformation. The partnership led to significant educational impacts, community growth, volunteer engagement, and successful digital transformation. 

Australia

Clovel Childcare

Clovel provides childcare, early learning and out of school hours care services to families in Sydney. They lacked a structured online training programme as part of their onboarding process. Since incorporating Kineo’s off the shelf courses, staff now have a clearer grasp of expectations, leading to a more positive work culture within the organisation.

The GEO Group Australia

Kineo worked with GEO Group Australia to rollout Learnforce LMS in order for them to rapidly and efficiently implement policy changes for all staff which became a significant advantage for the organisation. In the past, the process was manual, cumbersome, and time-consuming. Now, policies can be created on our portal in a matter of minutes, assigned to all staff, and completion rates can be monitored immediately.

RAVC

The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria is a motoring club and mutual organisation offering insurance and roadside assistance to members. By implementing Kineo Courses and recently enabling Adaptics functionality, RACV has significantly decreased compliance training time, benefiting the business with increased productivity and reduced operational downtime.

Shoalhaven City Council

The City of Shoalhaven is a local government area in the South Coast region of New South Wales, about 200 kilometres south of Sydney. Using Totara Perform has enabled Shoalhaven City Council to see significant improvements in their employee Performance Development Plan process as they find it to be more structured, efficient, comprehensive and simplified compared to their previous method which involved a lot of manual processes.

Workskil Australia

Workskil Australia is a not-for-profit and charity that transforms lives through employment, Indigenous, youth and disability services. Learnforce LMS has modernised training management at Workskil Australia, serving as the singular source of truth and streamlining operations. With Learnforce, Workskil has consolidated multiple systems into one, including the classroom booking system, ensuring seamless coordination of training events and invitations. This transition has not only simplified processes but also enabled Workskil to optimise training operations, delivering Kineo Courses efficiently and enhancing organisational productivity and agility.

Bahrain

Bahrain Employability Skills Project

The collaborative efforts of Tamkeen, the Ministry of Labour in Bahrain, and City & Guilds have made significant strides in addressing Bahrani citizen unemployment, bridging the skills gap, and enhancing youth employability in the country. Since 2020, over 6,000 people have participated in City & Guilds Employability Skills qualification, receiving up to three months of training and support to enhance their employment prospects. City & Guilds provided comprehensive support for the project, including a dedicated account manager to work with training centres and industry partners and quality assurance. City & Guilds also supplied training, training materials, a skills profiler, and centre management through a dedicated portal.

Ireland

Fifty Shades Greener 2023 Princess Royal Training Award

Fifty Shades Greener winning the Princess Royal Training Award for Green Skills for Life is central to the training. Staff receive multiple opportunities to apply learning to real situations and as staff numbers and knowledge has increased, there has been a steady increase in turnover. Find out more about their award-winning programme here.

Jamaica

LiFT Programme

With 30,000 students completing City & Guilds qualifications in 2023 , young learners across Jamaica are accessing new opportunities to develop skills that can support them through their future careers. The Ministry of Education and the HEART/NSTA Trust have developed the Learning & Investment for Transformation (LIFT) Programme to empower young people in Jamaica.

The course received high satisfaction ratings from 71% of students and 87% of trainers. Students reported improved knowledge of the world of work and communication skills, with 73% believing the course helped them adopt the right mindset for work. Trainers noted benefits including improved student abilities and knowledge, and they also highlighted their own learning experiences.

Find out more: cityandguilds.com/international/case-studies/ministry-of-education

Mexico

Banorte

Banorte, a Mexican financial company, faced challenges in managing employee learning from multiple content providers. Kineo implemented a Totara-based solution, Apprende, to create a centralized platform for accessing and managing courses. Key features included a unified catalogue, single sign-on, and seamless integration with content providers. This solution improved user experience, fostered a culture of self-learning, and provided valuable insights for Banorte’s L&D team. As a result, employee engagement and course enrolment increased significantly, leading to positive business outcomes.

Singapore

Bridgestone Asia Pacific

In a collaborative effort with Bridgestone Asia Pacific, Kineo developed an elearning program dedicated to sustainability – a cornerstone of Bridgestone’s 2030 strategic vision. These award-winning courses, available in seven languages, have significantly elevated Bridgestone employees’ understanding of the company’s sustainability initiatives, empowering them to actively contribute to its ambitious goals.

“The positive reception of our educational program is particularly gratifying, as it affirms our commitment to delivering information in an accessible and easily understandable manner in collaboration with Kineo team. This is paramount for us, given our aspiration to be a Sustainable Solutions Company, where fostering awareness of sustainability is of utmost significance.” – Sreepadaraj Karanam, Vice President, Sustainability & CSR, Bridgestone China Asia Pacific

Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan National Youth Corps

City & Guilds and the National Youth Corps are working together to reduce youth unemployment and stimulate economic growth in Sri Lanka. Establishing 58 training centres to provide a unique mix of academic, vocational, and soft skills training. The City & Guilds Assured accreditation adds credibility to their programs, helping create opportunities for learners with employers in Sri Lanka and abroad.

Switzerland

Sulzer in Switzerland

Sulzer a global leader in fluid engineering, partnered with City & Guilds to develop the Impact programme, a leadership development solution to enhance managerial capabilities and drive strategic growth. The programme has successfully upskilled over 14 cohorts of Sulzer leaders, with participants reporting increased adaptability, trust-building, and effective communication, contributing to a more collaborative and high-performing organisation.

UK

SafetyOn

SafetyOn, the health and safety organisation for the onshore wind industry, partnered with the Energy Institute to address the stigma surrounding health and safety training. They created a video campaign featuring a real-life story of a worker who suffered a hand injury. The campaign aimed to raise awareness about hand injuries and promote safe practices within the industry. The campaign was successful, winning multiple awards and making a positive impact on safety culture.

Find out more on the Kineo website: kineo.com/case-studies/safetyon

United States

Curriculum Associates

Curriculum Associates worked with Kineo to develop a learning platform that enabled them to provide quality, scalable digital professional development to all of their i-Ready educators in the US. The Totara platform ensures educators can easily access relevant learning when they need it, increasing Net Promotor Score (NPS) by 10% to 50. The move to Totara also allowed Curriculum Associates to better align to WCAG standards making their learning a more inclusive and accessible experience for all users.

GSK

Pharmaceutical company GSK used Kineo to develop an interactive trivia game called VaxxMastery for their congress events. The game was designed to attract healthcare professionals (HCPs) to their stand and promote their online resources. GSK reported increased HCP attendance, longer engagement, and repeat visits due to the game.

Our theory of change

Our Theory of Change has nine key indicators that input to achievement of three key outcomes. Progress against these gives us evidence that we are supporting access to skills.

Creating an impact for:

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