Celtic English Academy in the Welsh capital city of Cardiff has been awarded a Gold Standard FairPlay Employer Award – the first private sector company and first SME organisation in Wales, and the first UK ELT centre, to be recognised for the prize.
Awarded by inclusive working experts in the FairPlay Employer team at Chwarae Teg, CEA said the Gold Award symbolises the Academy’s strengths in resiliency, adaptation and forward-thinking.
The award benchmarks employers against others in the industry on gender equality, among other areas that focus on fairness and standards, and works to building a genuine inclusive workforce.
Working with the equality, diversity and inclusion organisation over three years, CEA has improved unconscious bias, recruitment and selection, gender pay gap, family friendly policies, and fostered a more inclusive working environment, it said.
“We have worked hard to achieve the Gold standard FairPlay Employer award by improving our HR and organisational culture over recent years and evidencing our solid commitment to fairness, inclusivity, wellbeing, and workplace flexibility,” said Shoko Doherty, chief executive officer of Celtic English Academy, and English UK vice chair.
“The award comes from an anonymous staff survey, and benchmarking, so I am humbled and honoured by the genuine feedback this brings that is testimony to our workplace.”
“Achieving the award is a clear example of how valuable an organisation like CEA is”
CEA has made diversity and inclusion a priority, and hopes to inspire others, the school added.
“To achieve a Gold Award the client needs to be of a very high standard and their staff must also believe in those standards and really live and breathe the culture across the business,” Stephanie Griffiths, commercial director at Chwarae Teg, said.
“It’s testament to their dedication that they have also become a finalist in the FairPlay Employer category at the Chwarae Teg Womenspire Awards 2021.”
“Achieving the award is a clear example of how valuable an organisation like CEA is – Wales and UK-wide educational tourism generates significant economic spend for local visitor economies, as well as promoting greater cultural understanding between nations and future opportunities,” said Andrew Campbell, chair of the Wales Tourism Alliance.
