Speakers
Speakers/Panel |
Martin Dunford OBE
Chief Executive, Skills Training UK & Chairman, Association of Employment and Learning ProvidersMartin is the Chairman of AELP and CEO of Skills Training UK. His company Skills Training UK is a national provider of bespoke Apprenticeship and Traineeship programmes, with a particular focus on individual and business improvement and has direct contracts with the Education and Skills Funding Agency for Apprenticeships, Traineeships, the Study Programme and ESF delivery.
After University, Martin began his career in international (Europe, Japan, USA) sales, marketing, product and business development of high value, scientific and medical instrumentation; a demanding, advanced engineering industrial market where competitive advantage is achieved via rapid continuous improvement. Whilst working in this market Martin qualified with an MBA. Business improvement, which demonstrates a real return on investment, is at the core of Skills Training UK’s approach to Apprenticeship delivery and work force development.
Martin is one of the original creators of AELP and has been elected as its Chairman for each of the last fourteen years. Starting with just a handful, AELP now has over 800 members. Martin works closely with AELP’s Chief Executive, Mark Dawe, particularly on policy developments and issues, affecting members, their learners and employer customers.
Other appointments held include, the advisory boards of the “End to End Review of Modern Apprenticeships”, and the “Foster Review of FE”, board membership of the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) and Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) where he was Chair of the Finance Committee. He was also a long standing member of both the Further Education & Skills Ministerial Advisory Panel and the Apprenticeship Ambassador’s Network.
Martin was awarded an OBE in the 2010 New Year’s Honours list for services to skills training.
Mark Dawe
Chief Executive, Association of Employment and Learning ProvidersMark was appointed as the Chief Executive of AELP over 2 years ago. He is on the Board of WorldSkills Uk as well as a range of government boards such as the ESFA Advisory Board, IfA Quality Alliance and the DfE’s Apprenticeship Stakeholder Board.
Most recently, Mark Dawe was the Chief Executive of OCR, the exam board, for 5 years. He has been a governor of primary schools, secondary and a further education college. Mark has a wealth of experience across a broad spectrum in the education field. Prior to his role at OCR, Mark was Principal of Oaklands FE College (and AELP Board Director) having been Deputy Director, FE Strategy at the Department of Education and Skills and before that as Deputy Director, Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit after joining the department in 2003.
Having read Economics at Cambridge University before qualifying as a chartered accountant at KPMG, Mark joined Canterbury College, becoming Head of Corporate Services in 1994. In 2000, he helped set up eGS, an e-procurement provider to the public sector. He gets his grit and resilience from supporting Plymouth Argyle and Boreham Wood, cycling and four school aged children.
Claire Paul
Director, Leadership Development & New Talent, BBCClaire is the BBC’s Director of Leadership Development & New Talent. In a career spanning 30+ years in the media industry, she has undertaken a wide range of senior editorial, management and public policy roles.
Committed to supporting high potential diverse talent, Claire leads the development of c. 400 Apprentices and graduate trainees.
Claire also leads the BBC’s partnerships with the University and Further Education sectors; she is a governor for the National College for Creative Industries, co-chairs the Department for Education’s Apprentice Delivery Board, and is a member of the government’s Apprentice Ambassadors’ Network and Apprentice Diversity Network.
As a non-graduate, Claire is passionate about the potential for high quality vocational education to change lives.
Matt Hassan
National Retraining Scheme Team Leader, Department for EducationProfile to follow.
Keith Smith
Director, Funding and Programmes, ESFAKeith Smith has over 20 years of experience working in and around the education and skills system. He has worked in a variety of roles, from running local skills programmes to leading national projects. In recent years he has been leading the development and delivery of the national Further Education and Apprenticeship funding systems. Keith has been a Governor of a number schools and University Technology Colleges. He is currently the Programme Director with responsibility for implementing Apprenticeship funding reforms and the Apprenticeship Levy.
Philip Augar
Head of Post 18 Funding ReviewPhilip Augar, a former banker with a doctorate in history, is chair of the independent panel advising the government’s review of post 18 education and funding. He has held numerous public and private sector directorships. The author of several books, he contributes regularly to the Financial Times and BBC.
Jonathan Ledger
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Specialist, Department for International TradeJonathan is the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Specialist for the Department for International Trade Education team. Jonathan’s expertise is used to lead the development of international TVET opportunities for UK providers, developing the UK TVET export capacity, and promoting the UK’s capabilities in the sector. He works with Embassies and High Commissions to understand where opportunities exist and to explain how the UK is well qualified to be able to undertake the specific roles. As a renowned TVET advocate, Jonathan remains a world-class skills practitioner delivering TVET solutions across the globe.
Lorraine Davies
Learning & OD Manager – People Development Team, The Northern Care AllianceLorraine Davies is the Learning and Organisational Development Manager for the People Development Team at the Northern Care Alliance. A registered nurse by background, she has been in the field of NHS vocational learning and Apprenticeships for 15 years after starting to assess junior staff undertaking NVQs in clinical practice in the 1990s. Lorraine is responsible for supporting the organisation to meet the Public Sector Target for Apprenticeships and to best utilise the Apprenticeship Levy, in addition supporting Widening Participation activity across the Alliance.
Clare Hatton
Head of Skills Delivery, West Midlands Combined AuthorityClare Hatton has extensive experience leading change in skills delivery and organisational efficiency. She has worked for the Learning and Skills Council in senior policy roles and for PWC in their public sector practice supporting a range of national and government clients. Before joining WMCA, Clare spent four years working in further education in the senior leadership team at City College Coventry giving her direct insight into the delivery of skills in the region.
Sandra Jones
Learning and Development Business Partner, The Northern Care AllianceSandra is a Learning & Development Business Partner at the Northern Care Alliance. Her role within Learning & Organisational Development is to lead on the development of an Apprenticeship Strategy across Group which will enable maximisation of the Apprenticeship Levy contribution to support workforce transformation and business critical roles. Sandra also has responsibility to introduce a talent management strategy across the Northern Care Alliance.
Sandra started her working life 30 years ago, as an apprentice herself working in administration and has spent the latter years of her career in senior management of learning development.
Sandra was born and bred in ‘sunny’ Blackpool, but has lived in Manchester for the last 20 years. She is extremely passionate about supporting and developing others and her current role enables her to fulfil this passion.
Danny Slater
Mechatronics Team, Team GBProfile to follow
Barry Payne
Head of International Partnerships, Open UniversityAs Head of International Partnerships, Barry is responsible for identifying and building relationships with strategic partners on an international basis which include educational Institutes, professional bodies and corporates. His main aim is to deliver strategic and financially viable propositions that are sustainable and provide long term benefits for both the Open University and its partners.
Barry started his career within finance and held various roles at KPMG. He then moved to the professional qualifications arena and held market and business development roles with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). This included a five year assignment in the US working with corporations to develop management accounting and business programs.
Barry is a qualified accountant and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants (ACCA) and a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Barry holds a BA (Hons) Economics and Public Administration from Royal Holloway, University of London.
Kirstie Donnelly MBE
Managing Director, City & GuildsKirstie Donnelly is Group Managing Director at City & Guilds Group, responsible for City & Guilds, ILM and DigitalMe brands operating globally. She joined City & Guilds Group in 2011 and has worked at the forefront of skills and education for 30 years.
Throughout her career Kirstie has spearheaded the development of award winning products and services across the skills landscape and is a passionate advocate of the role of digital and social media in transforming how people live, learn and work.
Her commitment to this area was recognised when she was awarded an MBE in the Queens Honours for services to e-learning in the FE/Adult sector. In 2014 Kirstie set up the City & Guilds’ UK Industry Skills Board, bringing together a range of employers and sectors to inform the development of a quality model for apprenticeship reforms.
She is currently leading City and Guilds Group through their emerging End Point Assessment (EPA) Market strategy and broader Apprenticeship positioning work.
Twitter: @MDcityandguilds
Richard Marsh
Apprenticeships Partnerships Director, KaplanRichard has been involved in Apprenticeship training for 20 years.
At Kaplan he leads our work to create leading Professional Service Apprenticeships for Corporate UK.
Previous to that he was responsible for the delivery of two of the largest and most successful Apprenticeship programmes in the Financial Services sector.
Before that he worked for the National Apprenticeship Service and Skills Funding Agency on Apprenticeship funding and employer – government partnerships.
Richard started his career at Vodafone where he introduced Modern Apprenticeships and then moved to Volkswagen where he was responsible for training content.
Richard writes for the FE press and regularly speaks about Apprenticeship matters at conferences in the UK and abroad.
Sally Dicketts CBE
Chief Executive, Activate LearningSally Dicketts has held senior posts in both secondary schools and further education. She became Principal at Milton Keynes College in 1996, and in 2003 became the first Principal of Oxford & Cherwell Valley College.
In 2010, Oxford and Cherwell Valley College took over the responsibility for running Reading College and in 2013 set up a UTC in Reading. In 2013 she became the first Chief Executive of Activate Learning, bringing together in one group, three FE Colleges (Banbury & Bicester College, City of Oxford College and Reading College), two UTC’s (UTC Reading and UTC Oxfordshire), a 11-18 secondary school, a studio school, a training provider delivering apprentices, training and consulting in the workplace and a specialist engineering training provider.
Sally is a tireless campaigner and advocate for the learning and skills sector. She is a board member of ETF, was a board member of AoC and AMiE. She chairs the Women’s leadership network and was the chair of the Employment committee of the AoC. She is a member of the Oxfordshire Management Club, All Souls Group and is a leading thinker for the National Education Trust. She sits on the Oxfordshire LEP. Sally was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Honours list in July 2013.
Her main area of interest is in how people learn, mindfulness and how to develop more entrepreneurial innovative individuals. She enjoys travel, cycling, Zumba and spending time with her partner and daughter.
Alex Richards
Operations Director, WTPNAlex runs the Western Training Provider Network as Operations Director, a Network based in the West of England which covers the four regional local authorities around the Bristol/Bath City region and had a membership of over 30 local, regional and National training providers, colleges and a University.
Alex started his career in the Govt funded training sector in 2010 joining JHP Training, helping them build a secure Apprenticeship base locally with 16-18 Apprenticeship recruitment programmes and adult learner work based learner programmes with larger employers.
Alex moved to T2 Business Solutions, another National training provider in 2013 and helped them established their Apprenticeship/Traineeship Academy in Bristol which has just gained it’s 2nd Outstanding Ofsted Award.
Along with excellent centre teaching and learning, a collaborative approach to working with schools, the local authority, employers and other providers was a major reason for the first Outstanding Ofsted award.
This collaborative approach with other stakeholders led to Alex taking part in regional Ofsted reviews, City wide focus groups on ‘Raising the Participation Age’ legislation and a successful City wide NEET reduction group.
Alex was then invited to and joined the board of the WTPN and now leads the network.
Most recently the WTPN and Alex has partnered with Business West which runs the four local chambers of commerce in a ESF/ESFA project to bring both providers and employers closer together to enable systemic change in the skills system through collaboration and co-design.
Ian Bamford
Chief Operating Officer, Paragon SkillsIan has a valuable knowledge of further education and work-based learning, having over 20 years’ experience working in a variety of different organisations including private training providers and FE colleges. After leaving school he qualified as a chef in the mid 1980’s through the work-based learning route. Ian developed a passion for inspiring others to fulfil their potential through practical, high quality training, becoming an NVQ trainer assessor and then subsequently other key roles with a national hospitality training provider.
Ian then worked as a self-employed consultant specialising in training, inspection and quality, before progressing into operations and quality director roles for two national work based learning providers.
Alongside this, Ian has over 15 years’ experience working as an Ofsted inspector. Having carried out over 120 inspections across all remits including leadership and management, and quality improvement, Ian knows what Outstanding teaching, learning and assessment looks like and how to deliver it.
For the last two years, Ian has been the Chief Operating Officer at Paragon Skills, a nationwide Apprenticeship training provider, confidently steering them towards the delivery of an outstanding learning experience.
Gemma Marsh
Assistant Director Skills Policy, Strategy & Delivery, Greater Manchester Combined AuthorityGemma is part of an executive team that leads on Greater Manchester’ agenda around creating an integrated education, skills & work system to raise attainment, reduce unemployment, improve skill levels and ensure high quality employer engagement.
In her previous role within New Economy, Gemma managed European capital projects, designed and delivered an employment programme at an NHS trust and developed a work & health charter in GM, before taking up the position of Director in 2014.
Gemma now oversees the work of the Skills and Employment team at the newly expanded Greater Manchester Combined Authority, delivering GM’s priorities for work and skills, ensuring all partners are working together towards a shared vision.
Most recently Gemma’s focus has been on the implementation of the skills aspects of Greater Manchester’s devolution agreement. Gemma is leading work to ensure that opportunities presented through the deal will deliver the best possible outcomes for residents and employers in Greater Manchester.
Sam Blyth
Director for Schools, Further Education & Learning Providers for Europe, CanvasSam Blyth has 12 years experience of working with colleges, schools, Local Authorities, multi-academy trusts and teaching school alliances in purchasing and implementing new technology. Formerly national Secondary manager for Discovery Education (formerly Espresso Education and Channel 4 Learning) and national key account manager for itslearning UK, Sam is now responsible for managing the team bringing the hugely successful Canvas VLE/LMS to colleges and schools across Europe.
Richard Guy OBE
Deputy Director, Quality, Institute for ApprenticeshipsRichard worked at the Manpower Services Commission responsible for policy on vocational qualifications, design of training programmes and assessment and certification.
He was appointed Chief Executive of South and East Cheshire TEC in 1989 and then Manchester TEC in 1994. He was actively involved in the TEC movement nationally including working part time as Director of Policy for the TEC National Council.
In 2000 he facilitated partners to come together to form the Manchester Enterprises Group, a £100m turnover organisation responsible for determining the Economic Development Strategy for Greater Manchester and its implementation. He remained CEO of this group (renamed Manchester Solutions) until 2013.
After leaving Manchester Solutions, Richard worked for three years as Policy Adviser on Apprenticeships at City & Guilds.
He has been employed by the Institute for Apprenticeships since February 2017 as Deputy Director responsible for Quality.
Elizabeth Pawlowski
National English & Maths Skills Development Manager, CarillionAs National English & Maths Skills Development Manager, Elizabeth is responsible for leading and developing a team of expert practitioners. She feels passionately about Functional Skills and was part of the AELP English and Maths For All review, is a member of the AELP English and Maths Group and is chair of the AELP Functional Skills Special Interest Group.
Prior to joining Carillion, Elizabeth was a Tutor and Assistant Head of School at an FE college – covering Business, Administration, Law, ICT, Management, Key Skills through to Functional Skills, NVQs, Apprenticeships and Job Centre Plus Programmes.
She has a passion for reading and keeps abreast of developments in English and Maths, Observation of Teaching and Learning, and empowering learners to be the very best that they can be.
Jennifer Coupland
Director of Further Education, DfEJennifer Coupland took up post as DfE’s Director of Further Education in October 2016. Her previous role was Acting Chief Executive of the Standards and Testing Agency where she oversaw the Agency’s work on primary school assessment policy and operational delivery, covering the maternity leave of the current Chief Executive.
Prior to that Jennifer spent three years as the Deputy Director of the joint DfE/BIS Apprenticeships Unit where she was responsible for apprenticeship reform including creating new apprenticeship trailblazers, degree apprenticeships and the public sector apprenticeship duty. Before this, Jennifer was the Deputy Director in the Department for Education responsible for the early stages of Traineeships development as well as Raising the Participation Age, careers and NEET policy.
Jennifer began her career in the Employment Service where she ran a benefit section in a local office and delivered a range of programmes to support long term unemployed people into work. Since moving to central Government Jennifer has worked on a number of policy areas including: benefits, schools and post-16 education. Jennifer is married to Dan, who runs his own small business, and together they have three daughters aged 16, 14 and 10.
Martin was awarded an OBE in the 2010 New Year’s Honours list for services to skills training.
Anthony Chalmers
Pre-employment Skills and Public Sector Apprenticeships, DfEProfile to follow shortly.