On Thursday 28th April, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, welcomed 48 recipients to Mansion House in London to celebrate them receiving Princess Royal Training Awards for their commitment to training and development in 2021.  

Currently in its sixth year, The Princess Royal Training Awards recognise and celebrate organisations across the United Kingdom which have demonstrated exceptional commitment to training and development. Despite facing unprecedented challenges due to Covid-19, the organisations receiving this standard of excellence have created and delivered highly engaging training programmes which have resulted in significant and measurable impact.  

Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive of City & Guilds said:  

“It’s fantastic to have seen so many organisations demonstrate a continued commitment to training and development as well as the positive and life changing impact learning can have on people. It has been a real honour to celebrate the hard work and dedication to learning and development from all of our Princess Royal Training Award recipients this year.”  

46 organisations receiving the award in 2021 differ in size and span across a diverse range of sectors, with two organisations being awarded for two separate programmes. From large national employers such as Barclays, HMRC and Sky UK through to smaller organisations such as Thames Skills Academy and children’s charity The Mulberry Bush, are among those to have received this year’s awards.  

Several organisations also received a special commendation for demonstrating a significant commitment to inclusion and diversity. Those commended for their Inclusion and Diversity initiatives in 2021 include BJSS, Diverse FM Community Media, IBM, Mojatu Foundation and Sparta Global.  

Mojatu Foundation was recommended for an Inclusion and Diversity Commendation for its transformational work within the community. Working with community-based volunteers including multi-faith Leaders and Youth Ambassadors, Mojatu has successfully raised awareness about female genital mutilation, forced marriage and modern slavery with the emphasis on empowering women and girls. It has provided training to enhance employability and support migrant African and ethnic minority communities to help them lead healthy lives, whilst taking into consideration cultural sensitivities. 

Previous recipients of a Princess Royal Training Award have reported clear positive impacts on their business, with 82% saying it has improved recruitment and retention and 62% reporting increased investments into training programmes. This will be paramount when it comes to helping businesses recover post-Covid, closing sector skills gaps and promoting a culture of skills development.  

For the full list of recipients and their training programmes, please see the 2021 recipients’ page and the Covid commendation page.