Gateway 97.8 receives excellence in training award commended by HRH The Princess Royal

City & Guilds Group has today celebrated Gateway 97.8 – along with 38 other UK-based 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.

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 commented:

“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. It is a credit to all of this years’ recipients that they are continuing to invest in training and development opportunities during a global pandemic, and we are delighted to celebrate their innovative and impactful approaches through the Princess Royal Training Awards.”

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. In 2020 applications focused on a wide range of challenges including using training to reinvigorate apprenticeship programmes, initiating organisation-wide culture changes and re-skilling employees to fill sector skills shortages.

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.