City & Guilds recognised for efforts to improve Welsh language services

City & Guilds has been awarded the prestigious ‘Cynnig Cymraeg’ from the Welsh Language Commissioner, in recognition of the organisation’s commitment to offering services in the Welsh language.

The ‘Cynnig Cymraeg’ recognises organisations that demonstrate a strong commitment to developing and implementing robust Welsh language plans for the services they offer.

Embracing use and promotion of Welsh

Following initial discussions in January 2023, City & Guilds, the leading work-based learning organisation, worked closely with the Welsh Language Commissioner, to make improvements and strengthen its plans for supporting the Welsh language throughout the organisation’s services. Based on this guidance, City & Guilds has since taken steps to create a bilingual Wales website page and produce a bilingual intranet site for staff.

By embracing the use and promotion of the Welsh language (‘Cymraeg’), City & Guilds joins a growing collective of public, private and third sector organisations providing valuable bilingual services to customers across Wales.

Angharad Lloyd-Beynon, Policy, Stakeholder and Partnerships Manager at City & Guilds, said: “We are delighted to see our efforts to support and improve Welsh language services, recognised by the Welsh Language Commissioner. This acknowledgment represents an impressive start for our engagement plan to support the Welsh Government’s strategy of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050.”

Congratulating City & Guilds, Efa Gruffudd Jones, Welsh Language Commissioner, said: “The Cynnig Cymraeg (Welsh Offer) provides an opportunity for organisations to raise awareness of their Welsh language services. The aim is to see an increase in awareness which in turn will lead to an increase of services in Welsh.

“A well respected body such as City & Guilds provides an important service to individuals, organisations and companies to develop their skills. Our recent research clearly confirms that young people are keen to complete post 16 courses in Welsh and therefore we need to ensure that provision is available to them. It’s wonderful to see that they recognise the importance of these services in Welsh and as a result are responding to the increased demand for bilingual services.

“If we are to increase the natural use of Welsh in our daily lives the language needs to be visible everywhere, and it needs to be used.

“I am grateful to City & Guilds for committing to our Cynnig Cymraeg and I encourage others to take advantage of the oppportunity.”

Inclusive

Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Chief Executive Officer at City & Guilds, said: “This is great news for City & Guilds. I would like to personally congratulate our team for their hard work in making this happen. We’re proud to have a new way to showcase our commitment to our Welsh language customers and I look forward to seeing this service grow in future.

“By actively taking steps to elevate services in Welsh and their visibility, City & Guilds is creating more inclusive opportunities to open doors for learners and partners. This honour marks a key milestone in our ongoing journey to better support and celebrate our Welsh speaking customers.”