BECTa

The City and Guilds of London Institute (City & Guilds) is a leading United Kingdom vocational education organisation. City & Guilds offers more than 500 qualifications over the whole range of industry sectors through 8500 colleges and training providers in 81 countries worldwide. Two million people every year start City & Guilds qualifications, which span all levels from basic skills to the highest standards of professional achievement(Honours,Master and Doctorate levels equivalent).

Founded in 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – the traditional guardians of work-based training – to develop a national system of technical education, City & Guilds has been operating under Royal Charter (RC117), granted by Queen Victoria, since 1900.

NOW THEREFORE know Ye that We by virtue of Our Royal Prerogative in that behalf and of other powers thereunto Us enabling of Our special Grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion by these presents do for Us Our Heirs and Successors give grant will direct ordain and declare as follows:-There shall from henceforth for ever be a Corporation aggregate by the name and style of "The City and Guilds of London Institute" and such Corporation is hereby instituted exclusively for the purpose of all such branches of Science and the Fine Arts and for the advancement dissemination propagation promotion culture and application of all such branches of Science and the Fine Arts as benefit or are of use to or may benefit or be of use to productive and technical industries especially and to commerce and industry generally or any branch thereof and for the utilisation of such means as will promote the several exclusive purposes aforesaid.
City & Guilds is a registered charity (no. 312832). The Institute's president is now HRH The Princess Royal who accepted this role in June 2011 (following her father HRH The Duke of Edinburgh who held the position for nearly 60 years), and the current Chairman of Council is Michael Howell.