CAVC moves from 12th to 2nd in the National Centre for Diversity’s UK-wide Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces Index and wins College of the Year

Cardiff and Vale College has moved to second place in the National Centre for Diversity’s Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces Index – and won the Centre’s award for Further Education Provider of the Year.

The announcement was made at the NCFD’s annual Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement (FREDIE) Awards. Last year the College was ranked 12th in the Centre’s Top 100.

The Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces Index is an annual list covering the UK’s public, private and third sectors employing thousands of people across the country. It crosses all sizes of organisation including UK-wide private sector firms, banks, colleges and charitable organisations.

CAVC’s jump up the index, and its award for FE Provider of the Year, reflect the significant work the College does within the communities it serves. As the largest provider of English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) courses in Wales, the College is well placed to reach out to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities across the Capital Region and beyond.

Its REACH+ initiative provides a central hub for those on ESOL courses, which has significantly improved delivery of the right courses to the right people and cut waiting lists. The initial REACH programme was such a success that the Senedd has rolled it out across Wales, combined with a ReStart: Refugee Integration project to provide support in a one-stop shop.

CAVC also runs ESOL Health and Cancer Awareness Resource – a package of educational tools - it offers in partnership with the Velindre Cancer Centre and Public Health Wales.

Solat Chaudhry, Chief Executive at the National Centre for Diversity said: “I send my warmest congratulations to Cardiff and Vale College, a well-deserved win, and on reaching number 2 in the Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces Index 2021. It’s been a challenging year and yet, it has not dented the excellent work that organisations and individuals do in promoting FREDIE best practice.

“We had to have these awards this year. We could not ignore the fantastic efforts that everyone has continued doing. All the winners had inspirational stories to tell.

“All of the winners showed consummate professionalism and wonderful inclusive leadership from the senior management down to all the teams that deliver on the ground, and I congratulate everyone who works so hard day-in day-out to maintain these high standards.

“Through the work of the FREDIEs we are able to build a better society, and our winners come from a wonderful cross section of private, public, education and charity sectors representing the very best.”

Recently the NCFD re-accredited CAVC’s Leaders in Diversity status, placing it as one of the top institutions in the UK for encouraging an all-encompassing culture of equality, diversity and inclusion. This is the highest and most prestigious award offered by the National Centre for Diversity and the College has held this status since 2016.

Cardiff and Vale College Principal Kay Martin said: “We are thrilled to have won the National Centre for Diversity’s FE Provider of the Year award and to have moved to second place on its Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces Index.

“As the College which serves one of the most diverse and vibrant communities in Wales, we are hugely proud of this result. It means a lot to us because we believe ourselves to be at the heart of the communities we serve and that all students and staff are part of the CAVC Family.

“This is a testament to the people right across the College who work so hard to ensure that CAVC takes an ell-encompassing approach to managing equality, diversion and inclusion across all we do and I’d like to thank them all for that.”

The Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, said: “Our academic institutions should reflect the diverse communities we live in today, making them richer places for learning and working in.

“A big congratulations to Cardiff and Vale College for this achievement and for being awarded the FE Provider of the Year for diversity and inclusion.”