Our commitment

At City & Guilds we recognise that an unconditional commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) is fundamental to delivering our purpose of helping people, organisations and economies develop the skill they need for growth, and this extends to all people, organisations and wider stakeholders we work with, wherever we work.

We understand the life changing link between skills development, social mobility, prosperity, and success. We believe that people deserve the opportunity to skill, upskill and reskill, gaining new skills at every stage of life, regardless of where they start.

Additionally, our responsibility for living our values of quality, innovation, passion, integrity, clarity and velocity enables us to deliver this commitment every day, by removing barriers in all aspects of our work, and ultimately helps contribute to a more just and equitable society.

Quality

We are committed to raising the bar by being consistently best‑in‑class in everything we do, always putting customers first, meeting and exceeding stakeholders’ expectations.

Integrity

We demonstrate courage, honesty and high moral principles by doing the right thing even when nobody is watching – irrespective of any personal interest – to build trustful, transparent and reliable relationships.

Innovation

We have an “out of the box” mindset, challenging the status quo with new ideas on how to improve our work.

Clarity

We communicate with transparency, simplicity, and accuracy to ensure shared understanding and informed decision‑making.

Passion

We demonstrate high enthusiasm, motivation, and commitment to generate exceptional results.

Velocity

We are committed to acting with agility, focus, and efficiency in everything we do, delivering results swiftly and effectively while maintaining direction and purpose.

We commit to:

1	Advancing knowledge of DE&I throughout our organisation, enabling us to become a fully inclusive organisation.

2	Firmly establishing DE&I within our responsible business strategy.

3	Recognising and upholding regional and global DE&I standards and legislation, acting with integrity at all times.

4	Creating and promoting effective policies and practices to tackle discrimination, prejudice, harassment and unfair treatment or behaviour that undermines individuals and our values.

5	Providing an environment where all voices will be heard – and listened to.

6	Establishing clear policies and processes to investigate discrimination, prejudice, harassment and unfair treatment, and taking timely appropriate action.

7	Growing a thoughtful and respectful culture where inclusive behaviour is championed, expected and grows our capabilities.

8	Learning, sharing, and promoting best practice in DE&I within and outside our organisation.

How we will deliver on this commitment:

Leadership accountability

Our interim CEO and Chief Customer Officer, Andy Moss, takes full accountability for our DE&I work. Andy will ensure the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and our broader leadership community uphold these commitments.

Action plan

We will develop and share a clear plan outlining the steps we will take to deliver on our commitments and update the business regularly on progress.

Responsible business

Through our responsible business strategy, we ensure DE&I is threaded through our work and the way we do business – from the products we create to the learning we deliver. This is monitored through a responsible business steering group that looks at our ESG commitments sponsored at an executive level by Faiza Khan MBE, Chief Brand and Communications Officer who, with Andy, Co-Chairs the Group. Together with leaders across the organisation, they work to steer improved outcomes for those we serve. Our learners, customers and employers remain at the heart of all we do.

Our Head of DEI, Charmain Bucho supports contribution from across the organisation to a more equitable organisation and services through working across our staff team and leaders to achieve greater impact.

Safe reporting and prompt action

We will provide a variety of ways for employees to speak up safely, and where all voices are heard – from investigation to taking appropriate and timely action.

Personal accountability

We will each hold ourselves and each other to account for our own behaviours and working practices.

Advancing knowledge

We will advance DE&I knowledge across our organisation, developing our managers and employees to promote an inclusive respectful culture.

Annual review

We will review our commitment to ensure it reflects our evolving culture, the needs of our organisation and changing legislation.

Our commitment applies to:

Everyone we work with – employees, associates, suppliers, customers, clients, stakeholders and anyone associated with us.

About this statement

The City & Guilds Executive signed this statement in 2024 to demonstrate our commitment to leading inclusion and elevate our focus and accountability around diversity, equity and inclusiveness (DE&I). This commitment remains key to our City & Guilds' ambition and strategy to achieve even greater impact as we continue to scale access to skills, now stewarded by PeopleCert. to shape the future with confidence, together.