Princess Royal Training Awards - Applications now open
Recognising employers who invest in their staff, and their future.
As with every other aspect of life, Covid-19 meant significant changes for the Princess Royal Training Awards. And despite challenging times for so many, businesses still saw the importance of seeking royal recognition for their staff development programmes. It was clear businesses were continuing to invest in their people and their futures and could evidence the impact it was having.
Catching people in..
We knew that we needed to be as flexible and supportive as possible, offering help with the application process and also advising where possible if 2021 was the right year for businesses to go for an Award. Our ethos of ‘catching people in’ means that we will only encourage an organisation to apply if we think they have a good chance of achieving an Award and we support them throughout the application process.
This year all the support workshops shifted online and we engaged more organisations than ever before with over 150 people attending one of the sessions. We also offered the opportunity for all organisations to submit a draft application for some initial feedback from Assessors to make sure that applications were on the right track and 46 organisations take advantage of this offer.
Using the Awards to benchmark success
The Awards were developed in 2015 in consultation with employers who wanted to be recognised for the difference their staff development was making to their organisations and to their people. In times of such change and uncertainty this remains an important differentiator for employers both in terms of positioning but also as a way of providing staff with much needed motivation and a morale boost. One 2020 hospitality sector recipients told us that ‘achieving the Award was the silver lining of their year.’
Celebrating best practice in the alumni
Achieving the standard required to gain an Award opens the door to joining the 200plus alumni organisation. Members are encouraged to share their learnings and build on one another’s success. If you are looking for a training solution to a challenge or opportunity, one of the alumni can probably help guide you in the right direction and will be happy to do so.
In 2021 we wanted the Awards to continue to listen to the needs of employers. We felt it was important to acknowledge the impact that Covid has made to businesses and showcase some of the innovative ways in which organisations have adapted staff development as a result.
We created an invite-only Commendation specifically for organisation who had previously achieved the Award and have been delighted that 28 organisations have shared examples of best practice from the L&D world that they have initiated over the past 12 months. In due course these will be published for other to learn from.
Robust but accessible
As you would expect with an award offered by royal charter organisation City & Guilds on behalf of their President, HRH The Princess Royal the Awards are robust. In fact, one of the companies who has achieved them on more than one occasion says that they are the most robust they ever apply for, but equally they are the most accessible too. The Princess Royal Training Awards team provide one to one support throughout the process as well as offering a series of workshops. Applicants that fail to achieve the standard required are provide with detailed feedback and the opportunity to talk it through with the assessor. Where appropriate they are given tailored support to reapply.
The Awards are free to enter and successful applicants receive their Award plaque and certificate from HRH The Princess Royal at St James’s Palace.
Applications are open from January to 31st March 2022.