Welcome to the August edition of the Foundation newsletter

This month’s newsletter is a little different. With summer in full swing, we’re taking the opportunity to celebrate one of the highlights of our year: our annual 2026 Princess Royal Training Awards recipient announcement!

Today, we’re delighted to announce 56 exceptional organisations recognised in this year’s Awards, celebrating training programmes that are making a real difference to people, organisations and communities. From small employers investing in their teams to large organisations delivering training at scale, this year’s recipients demonstrate just how much can be achieved when employers put skills and learning at the heart of what they do.

Now in their eleventh year, the Awards shine a light on the organisations going above and beyond to develop their people. And the stories behind the Awards are as inspiring as the programmes themselves – showing how great training can build confidence, open up opportunity, preserve specialist skills and help people and organisations thrive.

For this special summer edition, we’re also revisiting some of the brilliant stories and examples of best practice we’ve previously shared. From innovative approaches to apprenticeships and career development to programmes supporting people facing barriers to work, these are stories worth another look – whether you missed them the first time or simply want some inspiration for your own organisation.

We hope you enjoy discovering more about this year’s recipients and revisiting some of the people, programmes and ideas that continue to demonstrate the power of skills to create positive change.

Skills can open doors – and sometimes, they can change lives

When Liberty Kitchen received a 2025 Princess Royal Training Award, it was recognised for more than an outstanding training programme. Its work at HMP Pentonville shows what can happen when people facing barriers to employment are given access to practical skills, confidence and real opportunities to use them.

Through professional training, mentoring and a real street food enterprise, Liberty Kitchen helps participants build the skills and workplace experience they need to take their next steps beyond prison.

It’s a powerful example of what we mean when we talk about skills as a lever for social change – helping people unlock their potential, supporting rehabilitation and creating benefits for individuals, communities and the wider economy.

10 years, 300+ employers and thousands of people trained

To mark the Awards’ 10th anniversary last year, we created a special film celebrating what the recognition has meant to some of our alumni, including Balfour Beatty, Fifty Shades Greener and OnSide.

Their stories demonstrate the breadth of organisations taking learning seriously, and the different ways great training can benefit individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

Prepare to get goosebumps again as you rewatch our 10-year celebration film to hear from some of the organisations that have helped make the Princess Royal Training Awards what they are today.

Small programme, big impact: what we can learn from 2021 recipient MPCT

Great training doesn’t have to be big to make a big difference.

MPCT’s programme is a brilliant example. During the pandemic, the organisation recognised that its managers needed more confidence and skills to support colleagues with their mental health and wellbeing. A four-hour programme delivered to just 19 managers became the catalyst for much wider change.

The impact was significant. All managers who attended reported greater confidence in discussing mental health with their staff, while the organisation saw changes in engagement, sickness absence and staff turnover. The programme also helped embed a wider culture of openness around mental health, with further training introduced and the approach subsequently extended across the wider organisation.

It’s a useful reminder that workplace learning is not always about scale or cost. Sometimes, the right intervention at the right time can create a ripple effect that reaches far beyond the people who take part.

Read the full MPCT case study to discover how a small training programme created a big impact.

From pizza to people: Learning from a 2025 Princess Royal Training Award recipient

What do Domino’s Pizza UK & Ireland Ltd, Pret A Manger and itsu have in common?

We’ll tell you… they’re all Princess Royal Training Award recipients who are in the hospitality/ retail/ food sector delivering excellent learning and development programmes.

See what happened when the Foundation team was invited along to Domino’s for the day to hear more about their award-winning programme.

Removing barriers: focused investments

Using the power of celebration to promote learning

Educating, supporting and inspiring change

Bringing people
together to champion skills

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