City & Guilds is one of the UK's leading awarding bodies, offering thousands of accredited vocational qualifications across sectors including electrical, construction, plumbing, gas, hospitality and many more. These are mapped onto the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) and equivalent frameworks in Wales and Scotland.

The organisation has a long history: it was founded in 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies, and was granted a Royal Charter in 1900, making it one of the longest-established awarding bodies in the UK.

However, the awarding body element has changed hands recently. In October 2025, the City and Guilds of London Institute sold its commercial awarding organisation and skills training activities to PeopleCert, forming City & Guilds Ltd as a separate commercial entity, while the original Institute continues its charitable work as the City & Guilds Foundation. Qualifications and certification continue under the familiar City & Guilds name.

Despite this change in ownership, City & Guilds qualifications remain widely recognised. It's one of the UK's largest awarding organisations for vocational qualifications, reaching millions of learners worldwide, and is the dominant awarding body for UK electrical qualifications, with the majority of UK electricians holding a City & Guilds certificate.