Whilst many of you will have heard of City and Guilds, how much do you really know about them?
The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. It was founded on the 11th November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies. Together they established The City and Guilds of London Institute (CGLI) as they recognised the need for quality training after the industrial revolution and the subsequent boom within the industry. Today, the livery companies still champion their industries, with some having the power of regulation and inspection, and others being the awarding bodies for professional qualifications. They support the education training and charitable sector by donating on average £40million annually.
City and Guilds is the biggest name in UK Vocational Education with 2 million learners working towards one of their qualifications every year. Their objective was to support individuals and businesses by improving professional training. They have also had strong links with the royal family since 1881 with their current president being Her Royal Highness Princess Royal.
The City & Guilds continue to have a connection with the City of London Corporation. Did you know that the City of London Corporations pre-dated parliament as the oldest continuous municipal democracy in the world?
In 2010 City and Guilds set up the NPTC fund to benefit the land -based sector and to support the charitable objectives. Their objectives being;
“the advancement of education and training by means of the establishment and/or administration of schemes of Proficiency Tests, Vocational Qualifications, Certificates of Competence, Certificates of Qualification and other such awards in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and other industries as the Charity shall from time to time decide”.
All of the City and Guilds land-based service qualifications are developed with industry experts and employers to ensure that they support the skill needs of today’s industry. The sector encompasses agriculture, horticulture, forestry, animal care, conservation, machinery and more. The qualifications are designed for the learner and the courses are flexible and easy to balance with a working life.
They also offer a CPD scheme where members are supported by a dedicated customer service team and receive the below benefits;
- recognition of training and development
- ongoing learning opportunities
- annual training events
- membership magazine
There are currently 107 NPTC courses listed on our website. See SkillSeeder to have a look at them all. Hopefully you have found City & Guilds history as interesting as we have! If you are interested in their NPTC courses we hope that you check out their listings on our website.