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University of York

University of York honoured by HRH The Princess Royal

Posted on 25 November 2016

The University of York’s Learning and Development team has been awarded a prestigious Princess Royal Training Award at a St James’s Palace ceremony.

Recognising outstanding leadership for a commitment to training and skills development, the team received the accolade from Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal this week.

The University is one of 34 organisations to receive the hallmark, and the only Higher Education institution to receive the award.

Other winners include car manufacturers, healthcare organisations and charities, who all demonstrated that training can make a significant impact on productivity and business success.

Judges were particularly impressed by the University’s holistic approach to leadership development incorporating a number of strands accessible to all staff either in or aspiring to be in a leadership role.

These include an accredited internal coaching pool and a Leadership Forum where leaders from outside of the HE sector come to share aspects of their leadership journey to provoke insight and reflection.

Together with the City & Guilds Group, HRH The Princess Royal and ten leading figures in the business, learning and development community assessed 110 applications against three Hallmarks of Excellence.

Pat Lofthouse, the University of York’s HR Director, said: “I’m delighted that our dedication to training and development has been recognised in this way. At the University of York we place a premium on ensuring that our employees and managers have the chance to learn and grow in their roles. We understand that this is not only good for them but it is vital to the success of the business.”

Chris Jones, City & Guilds Group Chief Executive, added: “All of the successful organisations deserve enormous praise. I hope these awards have shone a light on how important it is for businesses to invest in training to boost their productivity, address skills gaps and develop their leaders.  This has never mattered more than in today’s uncertain economy. I hope this year’s winners inspire other organisations to share their experiences, and put forward their training and development success stories.”

Further information:

  • About the Princess Royal Training Awards:

The Princess Royal Training Awards is a new honour for employers in the UK who have created outstanding training and skills development programmes which have resulted in exceptional commercial benefits. They recognise the achievement of a standard of excellence rather than selecting overall winners.

The awards are supported by The City & Guilds Group President, HRH The Princess Royal, who is an active advocate for skills development.

Applications were assessed against three Hallmarks of Excellence:

1. Training and learning and development is integral to business performance

2. The programme is delivered efficiently and effectively

3. The programme has an impact on the success of the organisation and its people

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