City & Guilds

General information

City & Guilds is the UK's leading awarding organisation for work-based qualifications. We offer more than 500 qualifications through 8,500 colleges and training providers in 81 countries worldwide.

A City & Guilds Group Business.

Founded in 1878 to establish a national system of technical education. Our earliest exams ranged from cotton manufacture and steel manufacture to wool dyeing, telegraphy and qualitative blowpipe analysis - all relevant qualifications of the day.

Today we create vocational qualifications that help learners to gain the skills employers value, now and with a view to the future. Our qualifications and flexible learning options give learners the skills they need to advance their careers.

City & Guilds' 500+ qualifications, across 28 industry areas, are especially valued by employers because they're developed in conjunction with key industry bodies. We offer pathways to career progression, with qualifications ranging from entry level to the equivalent of a postgraduate degree.

We support our learners, centres, employers and trainers 24/7 with online access to course materials and with e-assessment, as well as publications and membership of professional bodies such as the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).

The City and Guilds of London Institute (City & Guilds) is a Royal Chartered Institute (RC117) and a registered charity (no.312832). Our Royal Charter was granted by Queen Victoria in 1900.

While strategically directed and managed by our Board of Directors, the City & Guilds Group also benefits from the wide experience of our governing bodies and committees. Our third President is HRH The Princess Royal, who took over this role on the retirement of her father HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in 2011.