The Business Unit of City & Guilds was set up to help provide training-based solutions to large employers and now works with an impressive selection of well known companies - from insurance and financial services through to those in the energy and utilities sector.

Here are just two of household names City & Guilds is currently working with.

Building Relationships

Fault Protection - AXA and NECTA obtained City & Guilds Approved Scheme status for their innovative electrical inspection service.

Electrical faults in business premises are a major cause of fires. As fire insurance claims increase and premiums for business owners spiral upwards, it is vital to have a proper inspection of the electrical installations in business premises to detect and rectify faults.

Poor quality, defective electrical installations are the second largest cause of fire in the UK. With one in three electrical installations likely to have some kind of fault, coupled with the difficulty many find in securing competent people to complete an inspection, the need to have a robust and readily-available, high quality inspection service was strong.

In October of 2006, insurance company AXA in partnership with The National Electrical Certification & Training Alliance Ltd (NECTA) began running an innovative, customised electrical inspection service specifically designed to tackle this problem.

City & Guilds made sure that the scheme embodied rigorous quality controls and procedures, awarding it formal Approved Scheme status. This means that only those who are fully qualified to City & Guilds' standards are eligible to carry out the inspections on behalf of AXA. Douglas Barnett, AXA's risk control strategy manager, says: 'We are very pleased to be able to offer this efficient and effective service to existing and potential customers.'

'It removes any uncertainty between the business owner and their insurer, which means peace of mind. It is important for businesses to keep their electrical inspections up-to-date as 80% of businesses affected by a major incident like a fire either never re-open or close within 18 months.'

City & Guilds' Ken Thompson welcomed the new scheme as a real innovation for the insurance industry. 'There is a great need for properly trained and qualified inspectors to assess business risks effectively to meet insurance requirements. 

The new scheme should effectively meet this gap in the market. City & Guilds is delighted to have been actively involved in the development and accreditation of this comprehensive scheme that covers regular audits of management, procedures, documentation, and the credentials of assessors.'

Quality trainees -  Siemens Energy Services gained accreditation and external recognition of its in-house training scheme.

If you've ever had a new electricity meter installed, the chances are it was by Siemens Energy Services. As the leading independent provider of utility metering services in the UK, Siemens provides services to almost 10 million homes and businesses throughout the country.

City & Guilds' experience and reputation in training and development for the utility sector therefore made it the natural partner. Siemens Energy Services considers its UK operation to be its global centre of excellence and this has been achieved through a very high commitment to the training and development of all its employees.

City & Guilds accreditation of Siemens' inhouse training programme gives valuable external recognition to the achievements of the trainees.

By undertaking this formal accreditation process, Siemens has also benefited from City & Guilds' wealth of experience in areas such as assessment methodologies, writing training material and making sure that trainees successfully meet the learning objectives that were set out at the beginning of the course.

Siemens' training 'passport' is a modular document updated by certificates issued by Siemens that carry the City & Guilds Accredited logo, something that trainees have identified with and has helped them appreciate the high quality training they receive from their employer.

Siemens is currently working on being able to offer nationally-recognised qualifications to its employees, on top of its accredited in-house training programme.