AELP Autumn Conference 2015
Strategic Partner





 
Speakers/Panel
 


Ben Verinder

Director, Chalkstream Communications

Ben is managing director of Chalkstream Communications, an agency specialising in reputation and market research, consultancy and training in the education sector. Past and current clients include a broad range of UK awarding bodies, colleges, schools, universities and private training providers as well as NATO, UK Government departments, membership bodies and charities.

Ben is the former Communications Director at the Association of Colleges, a Chartered Public Relations Practitioner, judge on a number of national public relations awards and a regular speaker on education communications, reputation and market research. He is a contributor to a number of public relations books, including ‘Chartered Practitioners: Lessons from Expert Practitioners’ (Kogan Page, 2015). His specialism is psychology in public relations practice and, more broadly, change management. He is an adult FE student and primary school governor.

Debbie Gardiner

Chief Executive, Qube Learning

Debbie’s background is in retail management, HR and training & development, having worked for a blue chip retail chain, both in retail and training management for some fifteen years. In 1997 Debbie made a career change, moving away from traditional training and development into vocational learning, playing a key role in the planning and implementation of a store based infrastructure of qualified Assessors and Internal Verifiers. Debbie joined Qube in 2000 as Training Manager, progressing through the company to be promoted to Managing Director in 2006 and CEO in 2009. Since taking over the leadership Qube has seen a steady increase in revenue and MCV whilst maintaining an acceptable level of margin. With fifteen years leadership and management experience in work-based learning, Debbie has a reputation for achieving results; she is passionate about work-based learning and providing learning and development opportunities that add value to individuals and businesses alike.

Debbie is an active member of the Association of Employer and Learning Providers (AELP) Board and AELPs Strategic Forum, she also chairs the AELP Leadership and Governance Strategic Exchange. Debbie was involved with the development of the ‘Common Accord’ working with colleagues from independent training providers and colleges, led by the Association of Colleges (AoC). Debbie is passionate about this sector and keen to add value beyond her role of CEO at Qube.

Debbie is also a part-time Leadership and Governance Programme Assessor for the ETP, having previously been an LSIS High Quality Manager Mentor. Debbie has been an Ofsted Nominee and led on a number of Skills Funding Agency (SFA) audits. Debbie’s key strengths lay in her people skills and having a genuine interest in people reaching their full potential and making a contribution to society.

What little spare time Debbie has is spent with her family and ‘Lady their pet dog or doing voluntary work and fundraising.

Martin Dunford OBE

Chief Executive, Skills Training UK & Chairman, AELP

Martin is the Chairman of AELP and Chief Executive of Skills Training UK. His company Skills Training UK is a Prime Contractor to the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP), the Education Funding Agency (EFA) delivering the Study Programme and the Youth Contract for 16 -17 year old NEETS and to the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) for Apprenticeships and Traineeships. Martin has been involved in the promotion and delivery of vocational education and skills and Apprenticeships for over twenty years. Martin was a founding member of AELP and has been elected as its Chairman for each of the last ten years. In addition, Martin was a member of the End to End Review of Modern Apprenticeships, on the Advisory Panel to the Foster Review of Further Education and a Board member of both the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) and the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA). 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.

Stewart Segal

Chief Executive, AELP

Stewart Segal was appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer of AELP in 2013. Stewart has worked in the funded work based learning sector for over 20 years and in particular has supported AELP since its formation. Stewart worked as an independent consultant within the training sector, working with a number of training providers and colleges specialising in business development and funding issues.

Following a background in HR and general management in the private sector Stewart joined Hertfordshire Training and Enterprise Council in 1994 as Chief Executive until 1998 when Stewart joined Spring Skills as Chief Executive in 1998. Spring Skills was then the largest independent training provider in the sector involved in the delivery of a range of programmes in the service sectors such as retail, customer services, hospitality and business administration.

Neil Carberry

Director of Employment and Skills, CBI

Neil was appointed Director of Employment & Skills in February 2011. He is responsible for setting out a framework of employment and skills policy that supports the CBI's ambition of making the UK the best place to invest and create jobs. His team campaigns on behalf of CBI members on labour market issues including education, skills, employment law, employee relations, equality and diversity, pay, pensions, health and safety and human rights. He led the work to relaunch the CBI’s schools policy that culminated in the report First Steps in 2012.

Before becoming director, Neil spent four years as head of employment and pensions policy and he has previously worked in the CBI's public services team as head of public procurement. Neil joined the CBI in 2004, after completing a postgraduate degree at the LSE in Industrial Relations. Before this, he worked as an HR consultant for a number of major financial institutions.

Nick Linford

Nick Linford is an expert in further education funding and performance systems and a company director of Lsect Ltd.

He runs a series of popular workshops, conferences and webinars about funding and data, which have been attended by more than 15,000 people in the last five years.

Nick is also author of the Complete Guide to Funding Apprenticeships (www.lsect.co.uk/guide), two books about funding and data published by Pearson and the founding editor for Lsect’s weekly newspapers: FE Week (www.feweek.co.uk) and Schools Week (www.schoolsweek.co.uk).

Prior to setting-up Lsect in 2010 Nick established an education think tank at the publishers Pearson, and before that was for seven years Director of Planning and Performance at the Lewisham College, during which time they achieved an Ofsted grade one.

Professor Bill Lucas

Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning

Bill Lucas is Professor of Learning at the University of Winchester where he is Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning. With Professor Guy Claxton he is the creator of the Expansive Education Network, www.expansiveeducation.net. With AELP, 157 Group and City & Guilds he has played a significant role in creating the Alliance for Research into Vocational Education. Bill is in demand across the world as an entertaining and thought-provoking speaker and facilitator. Bill has written more than 40 books and numerous research reports including:

Remaking Apprenticeship: powerful learning for work and life (with Ellen Spencer) Thinking like and engineer: implications for the education system (with Guy Claxton and Janet Hanson) Expansive Education: teaching learners for the real world (with Guy Claxton and Ellen Spencer) How to teach vocational education: a theory of vocational pedagogy (with Guy Claxton and Ellen Spencer) A History of The English Language in 100 Places (with Christopher Mulvey).

David Pollard

Chairman Education, Skills and Business Support Policy Group, Federation of Small Businesses

David is a member of the FSB and leads their policy group on education, skills and business support.

In the little time left for his day job he runs his own business coaching and training company, is also a director of Centaur Seaplanes, a start up trying to raise funds to launch a new design of seaplane and of Solent Business Growth Network, a CIC supporting people starting their own businesses.

After A levels he left Yorkshire to join the RAF, graduating from the RAF College Cranwell with a degree in aeronautical engineering and management. His early career was in production management and engineering staff roles as an engineer officer in the RAF. This was followed by assignments in sales, project management, marketing and business planning with British and US multinationals.

After gaining an MBA from Cranfield he moved into the small business sector running a plant maintenance consultancy, an industrial electronics manufacturer and his own personal consultancy company.

David Hughes

Chief Executive, NIACE

David Hughes became Chief Executive of NIACE in 2011, following 11 years in the further education sector, working at the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). In the LSC and SFA David led funding relationships with colleges and providers and successfully took on trouble-shooting roles to rescue crises in capital funding and Educational Maintenance Allowances.

Prior to that, David worked in the voluntary sector across a wide range of roles and organisations in the UK and Australia, in social housing, co-operatives, welfare, regeneration and community development.

Under his leadership, NIACE has strengthened its campaigning voice across all forms of learning, in support of more equal and fairer access to the benefits of learning for people throughout their lives. He is a regular speaker, blogger and writer, promoting more inclusive learning, skills and employment policies and practice.

David has held many Board and Committee roles, including a few years as Vice-Chair of the East Midlands Regional Assembly in the 1990s. He played a leading role in establishing the new Education and Training Foundation in 2013 and is currently a Board member.

David lives in Loughborough with his wife, three teenage children, chickens, dog and four bikes.

Sarah Hodgetts

Head of Apprenticeship Delivery, Department of Business Innovation and Skills

Sarah Hodgetts is currently responsible for the delivery of the reforms to way that apprenticeship funding will be delivered and particularly making the operation of the apprenticeship levy work for employers, providers and Government. She has worked on the employer routed funding of apprenticeships for over a year, including delivering with the Skills Funding Agency the end to end digital system for employers to use to find and employ and apprentice and engage providers. Sarah has worked in Whitehall for over 12 years, including working in the No 10 Strategy Unit and the Treasury.

Carl Creswell

Deputy Director – Routes into Apprenticeships and Work, BIS/DfE

Carl Creswell is Deputy Director for Routes into Apprenticeships and Work in the joint BIS/DfE Apprenticeships Directorate. This includes leading on Traineeships, Apprenticeships Standards and Public Sector Apprenticeships.

Until August 2015, Carl was responsible for UK competition policy and sponsoring the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Competition Appeal Tribunal. He led the complex project in BIS to launch the CMA in April 2014. Carl also chaired the Consumer Protection Partnership, working with the various consumer organisations that he sponsored (e.g. the Citizens Advice Services and National Trading Standards Board), to improve cross-working on consumer enforcement.

Carl’s previous roles in the Department have included advising Ministers on employment law policy for vulnerable workers. From 2010 to 2012, he worked in the Labour Market Directorate, where he led the UK Government’s review of employment law. He was also responsible for dispute resolution policy and industrial relations law.

During his career, Carl has worked closely with Government Ministers on a range of policy issues, including overseeing the passage of the Communications Act and Enterprise Act through Parliament. He also has experience of operational delivery through running a corporate services team within the Department of Trade and Industry and leading the UK’s Employment Agency Standards inspectorate.

Sharon Walpole

CEO, Walpole Media Group Ltd

Sharon is the CEO of Walpole Media Group Ltd, a group of companies which provide a wide range of engaging products and services for young people in the UK. Group businesses include Not Going to Uni Ltd, which helps young people make informed decision about their future and highlights opportunities outside university specialising in apprenticeship opportunities. She is widely quoted in the press and is often interviewed on television and radio to discuss apprenticeships. Other companies include: Moving On magazine in print and on-line, which provides independent information on careers and qualifications; Vocendi Ltd, which provides technology-led study support for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities; and Appadoodle, which has produced apps with the NHS for young people with mental health issues.

Chris Jeffery

GP Strategies Ltd

Chris Jeffery has worked in the learning and development sector for 25 years.  For most of that time she was Managing Director and major shareholder of Academy of Training Ltd until 2010 when she sold the company to GP Strategies; Chris now works for GP as their Strategy and Policy Adviser. Strategies UK is part of GP Strategies Corporation, a global performance improvement provider of sales and technology training, eLearning solutions, manufacturing consulting and engineering services, based in the US.
Chris was elected to the AELP board in 2009 and represents AELP as a director and trustee on the board of the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), she was previously a trustee and council member of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS).

Nichola Hay

Outsource Training and Development

Nichola Hay is an expert in the delivery of work based learning. With over 20 years of operational experience and currently as the Director of Outsource Training and Development she has built a reputation for the delivery of high quality learning experiences for young people within the sector.

Nichola is a Board member for the AELP, sits on the 14-19 Strategic Group for Hounslow in West London, and previously Chair of the Work Based Learning Alliance Provider Forum in West London and a Board member for the Work Based Learning Alliance in London.

Currently Nichola has established a working group with the SFA, DWP, BIS, JCP and NCS to support the promotion of Apprenticeships to schools, colleges, young people and their parents. A pilot project with the ambition to roll the model out across England.

Working and consulting with national brand names Nichola is actively involved in reviewing NOS and the implementation of Trailblazers reflecting her long and established involvement in a variety of sectors.

Kirsty Evans

Deputy Director Funding Policy Implementation, Skills Funding Agency

Kirsty took up the role of Deputy Director Funding Policy Implementation for the Skills Funding Agency in 2013, having previously held roles as Director of Funding Policy, Director of Area Relationships, and Regional Skills Director.

Prior to working for the Agency, Kirsty held a number of national and local roles in the Learning and Skills Council between 2001 and 2009, encompassing strategy development, business planning and service development across the 14-19, adult and employer skills agendas.

This followed a number of years working for Oldham Chamber and Merseyside Training and Enterprise Council in policy and planning roles, prior to the creation of the Learning and Skills Council in 2001.

David Russell

Chief Executive, The Education and Training Foundation

David joined the Education and Training Foundation as CEO in January 2014. He has grown the Foundation from a fledgling organisation to one delivering effective support programmes for leaders, teachers and others across the education and training system. Educated in Scotland, David has a wide range of experience in design and delivery of national education policy, including as Director of Vocational Education and of the National Curriculum at DfE. David is a qualified teacher and an experienced school and College Governor.

Richard Guy

Apprenticeships Strategic Programme Adviser, City & Guilds

Richard has worked as a management trainer for industry and for the Manpower Services Commission in Manchester and at the MSC’s head office in Sheffield where he was 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 when it became operational and joined Manchester TEC as Chief Executive in 1994. He was actively involved in the TEC movement nationally including working as Director of Policy for the TEC National Council.

Following the Government’s decision to abolish TECs 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 (later re-named Manchester Solutions) until 2013.

Richard then became a consultant specialising in Apprenticeships policy and strategy. His main responsibility now is leading City & Guilds future direction related to Apprenticeships.

Richard was awarded the OBE for services to training and enterprise.

Ashley McCaul

Chief Executive, Skills for Growth

Ashley McCaul is currently the Chief Executive of Skills for Growth a charity operating in South and East London. The charity has been delivering education and training for over 30 years and is particularly focused on young people who face significant barriers to engagement with learning and work.

During her nine years as Chief Executive, Ashley has led the organisation through significant change (including the acquisition of another London charity). Much of the change has sought to build on the charity’s existing strengths, retain a distinctive mission and ethos, whilst carefully leading its response to the rapidly changing post-16 environment. Ashley’s passion for the development of young people and youth policy in particular, has driven her career.

Prior to the CEO role at Skills for Growth, Ashley held a range of posts within Training and Enterprise Councils, Learning & Skills Councils (LSC) and the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA). Her various roles have seen her contributing to the development of government policy and leading on quality improvement initiatives in the post 16 sector. She designed and delivered a national quality improvement network for Work Based Learning Providers in nine national regions during her time with LSDA and worked on Contract and Quality Management in her role with the LSC.  

Kevin Street

Senior Manager Funding Development and New Programmes in the Young Peoples Group in the EFA.

He joined the sector in 1992 after a successful career in the Royal Engineers. Since then he has worked in a Training and Enterprise Council, the LSC and YPLA. During this time he led the team responsible for the new deal in Warwickshire including through their inspection by the Training Standards Council and served as a director of a regeneration charity.

He has led a number of high profile developments including developing the funding methodology for E2E, reviewing the funding rates for apprenticeships and most recently introducing the new high needs funding system post 16. He is responsible now for the development of the 16-19 funding methodology including traineeships and study programmes.

Lee Mason

Apprentice Programme Generalist, Liebherr-Great Britain

Lee began life as a Construction Plant Maintenance Engineer apprentice, completing his Advanced Apprenticeship winning ‘Apprentice of the Year’ two years in a row. He continued to work for them for a further 11 years, servicing and maintaining Caterpillar Construction Plant equipment and experiencing secondments to Holland and Africa.

Lee returned to the college where he learned and taught/assessed Plant Maintenance at NCC (Bircham) to youth apprentices and adults.

Employed by Liebherr GB Ltd in 2011 as their Apprentice Programme Manager, he successfully generates and administers programmes for the business. Liebherr GB Ltd have won the 2013 and 2014 BAE Systems Large Employer of the Year, been highly commended at the 2014 National awards and he himself won the City & Guilds Apprenticeship Champion 2014

He is also an apprenticeship and STEM ambassador carrying out talks to other organisations, schools, employers, promoting STEM and apprenticeships as a viable route after school. Lee chairs the South East Midlands Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network

Lee says “I am passionate about young people as they are the future of our industry. My rewards and satisfaction come from the success of others especially those looking to take up an apprenticeship. As employers and advocates, we have a responsibility to ensure this happens”.