We are at a critical moment for vocational learning. In a period of prolonged global economic uncertainty, the traditional routes to learning, employment and career progression need to be challenged.
At City & Guilds, our purpose is to enable people to develop their skills for personal and economic growth. We cannot sit on the sidelines and wait for the dust to settle. Instead, we believe in leading the way. The theme for this year’s Annual
Review is ‘shaping talent’ to reflect our proactive approach in improving lives, business performance and the education landscape, both in the UK and across the world. ‘Shaping talent’ also encapsulates our continued focus on working in partnership with key stakeholders, ranging from learners and employers to governments. Our 2010-11 financial year was full of successes that underline how we are delivering on our purpose and leading the skills agenda. There are too many to name them all here, but I have included some key highlights.
Improving lives
Months of hard work in preparation for WorldSkills London 2011 culminated in a successful event in the first week of October 2011. City & Guilds was a Premier Sponsor of WorldSkills, which had nearly 200,000 visitors over four days, 50% more than the original target. Almost 1000 competitors participated from 51 countries in 46 skill areas. Team UK had its best ever performance and we are proud to say that 65% of the team had City & Guilds qualifications. A high point of the event for me
was seeing five young students, all studying for our hair and beauty qualifications, proudly taking pictures in front of our banners. They told me
06
that seeing the level of competition at the event made them feel genuinely inspired to compete in competitions like this in the future. Likewise, the proud expressions on the faces of this year’s Lion Awards winners were a testament to the way in which education can seriously transform people’s lives. Like any organisation, there are
always areas for improvement and we faced challenges in delivering functional skills due to delays in results turnaround. This is an issue that we are pleased to say has now been rectified.
Improving performance
Shaping talent also means partnering with UK employers to help empower staff, improve quality of service and increase employee retention. To that end, we relaunched City & Guilds for Business in 2011 to meet the needs of any business interested in work-based learning. It aims to simplify the way that talent is developed for employers through a suite of services that range from accreditation and qualifications through to training delivery. Drawn by this offering, Asda created the Skills Academy in partnership with City & Guilds in June 2011 to deliver apprenticeships to many of its staff in roles including retail and management. In 2011, we also celebrated our
10-year relationship with Transport for London (TfL), which was marked by an announcement on National Vocational Qualification Day that more than 10,000 City & Guilds
The proud expressions on the faces of this year’s Lion Awards winners were a testament to the way in which education can seriously transform people’s lives
qualifications have been awarded to TfL staff, enabling them to progress their careers and shape talent.
Improving the landscape
The launch of our Million Extra campaign in 2011 brought together training providers, employers, industry bodies and government agencies, with the aim of ensuring one million people start an apprenticeship by summer 2013. In the context of escalating youth unemployment, we held a series of regional summits throughout the UK to identify the barriers to employment, including the need for increased support for apprentices and employers, clearer apprenticeship progression routes and appropriate levels of key and functional skills for school leavers. Million Extra is an ambitious project, but with more than 130 years of experience in the skills market we are confident that we can achieve this goal. The past few years have been full of
opportunities and challenges for City & Guilds. Looking ahead, we expect our market to continue evolving at a rapid pace. We face an economy under continued pressure with high unemployment. However, the groundwork that we have laid in 2011 coupled with the dedication I see every day from our staff, and indeed our partners, makes me confident that City & Guilds will continue to shape talent in 2012 and in years to come. I would like to thank all the staff at City & Guilds for their hard work in 2010-11 and for believing that, by working together, we can create a sustainable and exciting future for vocational learning.