Why a customer-first approach matters during education reform

Education reform has a huge impact across the board. Specifications change and assessment models evolve – often all at once. For reforms to education reforms work in practice, they need to work for the people delivering them: the tutors, coordinators, and admin teams on the ground. 

13 October 2026

At City & Guilds, a customer-first approach means putting provider experience at the centre of every decision. Understanding what it means to be customer centric – and building that into how we design products, processes and support – is what separates a smooth transition from a difficult one. That's the thinking behind how we're approaching the current reforms, and how our teams show up for education providers day to day. 

Why education reforms create challenges for providers

Every time the vocational education landscape changes, there is a confidence dip. Roles change overnight. Familiar processes are replaced. And the expertise providers have built over years of delivery suddenly needs updating. From new approval requirements to delivery and assessment processes, there is significant change to absorb and cascade to teaching teams. This can create stress amongst providers, who often have little time and resource to absorb the changes. 

Without the right support, managing change in education can feel like an obstacle, instead of being an exciting opportunity. 

For all education providers – whether teaching in colleges, private training providers, sixth forms or schools – the quality of their awarding organisation relationship during this period matters enormously. A customer-first approach means acknowledging those provider challenges and taking active steps to reduce them. 

What a customer-first approach looks like in practice

So, what does it mean to be customer-first in the context of education reform? It means designing every touchpoint with providers in mind. Addressing existing pain points and making improvements based on customer feedback. We also address pain points raised as feedback from existing customers. In fact, demonstrating an intimate understanding of customer needs is at the heart of what we do. 

Being customer-first means: 

• Real workflows, not theoretical ones: Building approval, onboarding and certification processes which reflect the operational reality of running a training programme, not an ideal-world version of it. 
• Simplicity and transparency: Providers should never have to chase information, decode complex guidance, or navigate difficult processes to do their jobs. Clarity should be the default, and that applies to all processes and resources.
• Faster turnaround in approvals: We are always looking at how we can streamline decision-making processes to reduce waiting times for approvals, which in turn reduces admin burden.  
• Onboarding support: We support providers throughout their transition to a new product, providing expert guidance, clear communication and hands-on assistance to help them get started with confidence from day one. 
• Supported onboarding: Providers are not left to navigate change alone. We provide guidance, resources and ongoing support throughout the transition to a new product, helping teams adopt new ways of working with confidence.
• A customer-first culture throughout: A customer-focused approach isn't just about individual touchpoints. City & Guilds is committed to making it easier for providers to do business with us at every level. 

How City & Guilds is simplifying provider processes during reform

We've been through vocational education reform before and we continually use our experiences to inform how we structure our support. Our approach is built around a clear commitment: that assessment design is key to reducing administrative burden, and that the processes surrounding our qualifications should be as carefully considered as the qualifications themselves. We run customer advisory boards and our customer panel, Your Voice. All of this is specifically designed to make sure provider feedback shapes how we develop and improve. We listen to our customers and address the friction points providers have raised directly.  

Here are just some of the changes we’re making based on recent feedback. 

• Simplifying the approval and onboarding process: We're currently redesigning the process with a focus on clearer approval pathways and faster turnaround times where applicable. This will allow centres to be up and running in a timely manner, with the same level of assurance and quality. 
• Redesigned handbooks and support materials: One of the ways we’re reducing admin burden is by ensuring our new handbooks and support materials meet our customers’ needs at each stage of their journey. Our handbooks are considered one of our strongest assets and we want to continue building on that. 
• Implementation and delivery support events: We offer free webinars and in-person events to help providers prepare for first teaching, share best practice and build confidence in delivering new products successfully.
• Clearer contact routes: We're introducing dedicated contact routes, so customers know exactly who to go to and when. This is an imperative step to ensure that providers have direct support that can give timely, and knowledgeable responses. 

This is an ongoing initiative, with Your Voice designed to keep City & Guilds at the forefront of customer centricity, even post-reforms. Sign up to the Your Voice customer panel here. 

Customer-focused support teams for providers

With good resources in place, our system is designed to build confidence within providers, allowing you to easily understand what you’re going to be teaching. 

However, we have also taken extra measures to ensure that providers feel as supported as possible during their journeys. 

• Digital Support Managers: Providers can receive additional onboarding support from our team of dedicated digital support managers. They are well equipped to ensure that providers have everything they need to get started successfully and are on hand to iron out any issues as and when they arise.  
• Technical Advisors: City & Guilds also invests time and resource supporting providers to deliver. This is particularly important during times of change. We have a team of dedicated advisors across each sector who offer webinars and face-to-face visits to support providers with delivery and assessment. 

How reform is an opportunity to improve provider experience

Educational reform is disruptive by nature. But it's also a rare opportunity to rebuild processes from the ground up, with provider feedback built in from the start. 

Rather than simply updating existing products and processes to meet new requirements, we're asking a more fundamental question: what would this look like if we designed it around the provider experience? That's what a customer-first culture looks like in action. For us, this is the standard to live and work by, not just a ‘nice to have’ principle on paper.

Supporting leaders through education reform requires more than updated materials. Managing change in education requires an awarding organisation that understands operational pressure, responds to feedback, and treats the provider relationship as a long-term partnership. 

With 3,668 training providers and colleges currently delivering City & Guilds qualifications, and over one million learner registrations in the last year alone, we understand what's at stake when reform doesn't land well. That scale is what motivates our customer-first commitment, and what holds us to it.