Bridgend College recognised by HRH The Princess Royal

Bridgend College recognised by HRH The Princess Royal for excellence in training and development

We are thrilled to announce that Bridgend College has been awarded the prestigious Princess Royal Training Award for our Person-Centred Leadership programme. Announced by the City & Guilds Group recently, The Princess Royal Training Awards recognise and celebrate organisations across the United Kingdom which have demonstrated exceptional commitment to training and development.  

HRH The Princess Royal, President of City & Guilds, awards employers who have created outstanding training and skills development programmes which have resulted in measurable business impact over the last 12 months. 

Sam Morgan, Director of People at Bridgend College, commented: 

“We recognise that our management population has the greatest reach and impact with our staff and our students. Our investment in developing our managers has been significant, but nowhere near the value our managers have demonstrated by applying the skills they have learnt with individuals they lead. The trust that managers have built up with their teams by adopting a person-centred approach is outstanding. A survey taken in the depth of the pandemic confirmed that 93% of staff feel that the College is meeting or exceeding their expectations. This was truly exceptional at such an incredibly challenging time.”

Sam Morgan, Director of People at Bridgend College

The College also recently received Gold in Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index 2021, demonstrating real impact in creating a culture that supports good mental health and wellbeing. This impact has been achieved through exceptional leaders who have demonstrated compassion and support, whilst also ensuring that the performance of teams across the College remains high and that our learners’ experience is outstanding. 

Sam also commented:

“There is no doubt that our managers have been instrumental in embedding our person-centred culture and that the programme has been a key enabler of this. We have incredibly talented people working for us and our continued investment in developing our workforce is critical to our success as a college.”

Sam Morgan, Director of People at Bridgend College

Organisations receiving the Princess Royal Training Award award in 2021 differ in size and include a diverse range of sectors such as Barclays, HMRC and Sky UK. Several of this year’s recipients have innovatively used training as a way of addressing skills shortages and skills gaps in their sector. 

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

“The last 18 months have caused disruption to the way most organisations operate which has led to major changes for all of us in how we live and work. Despite these challenges, it’s fantastic to see so many organisations’ continued commitment to training and development as well as the positive and life changing impact learning can have on people.”

Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive of the City & Guilds Group

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.