There’s no denying:
we’re passionate about what we do.

A champion of social inclusion, Andrew ensures integrity through compliance with our regulators, and supports our Centres in relation to regulatory issues.

Whilst “a stopped clock may be right twice a day”, Andrew is on time, all the time. So what keeps him ticking? Taking on challenges and the satisfaction of a job well done; championing social inclusion; and upholding integrity in everything he does.

Andrew’s key roles and responsibilities include:

• Overseeing compliance with our regulators, and supporting the responsible officer with responses and updates to the regulatory bodies
• The Centre Recognition and Qualification approval process
• Overseeing investigations and evidence-gathering for Centre enquiries, appeals, complaints, malpractice and maladministration cases
• Supporting the professional growth and development of team members
• Supporting the implementation of business plans leading to the growth of Skills and Education Group and its subsidiaries

Motivated to have a real, positive impact on people’s lives, Andrew values being part of a workplace culture that supports autonomy by encouraging ideas, listening to views and encouraging self-growth.

Around here, Aneka is the glue that holds things together, day in and day out. An expert in all things branding, she manages the brands of our four nationally recognised organisations: Skills and Education Group, Skills and Education Group Awards, Skills and Education Group Access, and BIIAB. Despite an endless to-do list, she always makes sure that we’re on track through her thorough, precise planning and execution. If it’s on the list, Aneka gets it done.

Aneka’s many responsibilities include:

• Project management
• Creative leadership
• Events coordination
• Team leadership
• Content strategy and development

Drawing on her background in marketing, communications and graphic design, Aneka is a valued team member who turns creative ideas into a well-organised process that communicates our brand and services. In turn, her work contributes to the advancement of further education and skills, along with the opportunities that they afford so many individuals and communities.

Cathryn provides leadership team with core strategy around the educational environment, landscape, and government focus on further education initiatives.

With a strong work ethic and values and a natural passion for making a difference, Cathryn always strives to make a real difference by supporting individuals in changing their lives through the funding, products and services Skills and Education Group offers.

Quite simply, she’s the real McCoy.

Some of Cathryn’s responsibilities are:

• Monitoring, reviewing, analysing and providing a strategic overview of the current internal and external educational environment and landscape, and the government’s focus on the latest initiatives. This includes highlighting threats, opportunities, recommendations and constructive challenges, which inform and influence our Executive Leadership team in relation to strategic direction for Skills and Education Group
• Working with key Executive Leadership team colleagues to identify, develop and implement reports that aid growth and provide key intelligence relating to products and services
• Working across Skills and Education Group to develop and coordinate responses to consultations from those including regulators
• Developing policy briefings on key announcements from the government and working with our communications team to ensure that these are effectively communicated to Centres and members in a timely manner.

For Cathryn, doing the right thing for the right reason is paramount, and Skills and Education Group does just that as she and her passionate and supportive colleagues strive to achieve social inclusion for all.

When it comes to expanding opportunities for individuals and communities, Jennie is guided by one fundamental law: everyone deserves the chance to grow and to realise their aspirations. Passionate about the transformative and enabling powers of the Access to HE Diploma, she brings 25 years of experience in adult learning and skills and 15 years of managing Access to HE to her role, which includes:

• Leading the Access team in achieving continuous improvement of strategy, policy and practice
• Delivering effective risk management and monitoring of all recognised Access Centres
• Maintaining standards and processes and the security of the award of credit across all Access provision
• Ensuring Skills and Education Group meets all QAA regulatory and service agreement requirements

Committed to the advancement of others, Jennie works collaboratively with the Access team to ensure the highest standards of quality and regulatory compliance, and the very best in Centre support and learner experience.

Karen supports and encourages others to work to the best of their ability, as she and her team develop and grow ideas to support the further education and skills sector.

You’ve likely heard the expression, “Keen as mustard”. Well, it should be upgraded to “Keen as Karen.” In heading our Professional Development team, Karen brings great enthusiasm and energy to supporting and encouraging others so that they can work to the best of their ability as, together, they develop and grow ideas to support the further education and skills sector.

In her role, Karen is responsible for:

• Planning and preparing a programme of professional development activity for the further education and skills sector
• Supporting the needs of providers by offering bespoke training and development that meets their needs
• Developing aspiring staff in the sector so they become efficient and effective educators and leaders
• Encouraging and developing the use of digital technologies to enhance the learning experience
• Supporting the growth of Skills and Education Group membership

Proud to be part of a team that works together to achieve, Karen is energised by working with like-minded professionals who all want to do well for the further education and skills sector, ultimately making a difference in learners’ careers and lives.

Karl identifies problems and puts plans in place to remedy the root causes, as it applies to awarding processes and compliance with regulatory requirements.

When it comes to our team, Karl’s definitely a first stringer! Working with rules and structures and applying his all-round insight into our awarding processes, Karl identifies problems and puts plans in place to remedy the root causes. His role brings him into contact with almost everybody across Skills and Education Group, as well as many of our customers.

Karl’s responsibilities include:

• Ensuring BIIAB, Skills and Education Group Awards, and Skills and Education Group Access’ compliance with the requirements set by our regulators
• Acting as the point of contact for all regulators for BIIAB, Skills and Education Group Awards, and Skills and Education Group Access
• Ensuring self-assessment is undertaken regularly against all regulatory criteria so that we remain compliant with regulatory requirements
• Working with the Compliance and Regulation team and the head of Quality Assurance to support our Centres in meeting our requirements

Taking genuine pleasure in working with a team that wants to “do the right thing”, Karl values the way that Skills and Education Group looks out for, consults and generally considers its staff, leading to a positive work environment.

Kaye is committed to growing customer relationships and supporting our customers as they work to improve the life chances in the communities they serve.

If a jigsaw puzzle is missing a piece, you want Kaye on the case. She loves the trust that comes from growing customer relationships, and listening and really getting to the bottom of what people are trying to achieve. For her, no two days are ever the same, and there is certainly no time to get bored as she works to solve the puzzle that is the further education and skills sector.

Kaye is responsible for:

• Leading the work of our knowledgeable and solution-focused Relationship Management team, ensuring clear points of contact for all customers across Skills and Education Group
• Establishing relationships with key stakeholders and maintaining up-to-date knowledge of the skills landscape on a regional and national level
• Identifying new business opportunities across Skills and Education Group and effectively managing pipelines
• Providing excellent customer service, and serving as a source of information and a critical friend when needed
• Working with the Brand Manager and wider communications team to ensure products and services are effectively marketed and communicated

Knowing that Skills and Education Group has a true desire to improve the life chances of communities, Kaye and her team work hard to make sure they support our customers in making this a reality. She finds no better feeling than when customers share the same passion as her, and their faces light up when they realise she has just found the solution they hadn’t thought of.

You can’t say “Kerry” without saying “care”. With the goal of making sure that every apprentice has an equal chance to demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours they have acquired throughout their apprenticeship, Kerry is passionate about ensuring that apprentices have every opportunity to succeed, during their end-point assessment and beyond.

Kerry’s responsibilities include:

• Serving as the operational lead, implementing and managing the end-point assessment process across Skills and Education Group
• Leading the development of end-point assessment processes, policies and procedures, along with annual reviews and updates
• Ensuring our end-point assessment product offer is fit for purpose, relevant to the market, and in alignment with our wider strategic aims and priorities
• Managing all of our independent end-point assessors and internal quality assurers

Kerry centres our end-point assessment on supporting apprentices. Working collaboratively with diverse colleagues who offer a wide range of educational expertise, she sees each day as an opportunity for us all to learn and to better serve our customers and learners.

With her passion for people, organised thinking and careful planning, you might say Kirsty riles up everyone she works with — in the best of ways. Her excitement for building trust and delivering on promises permeates her work, as she establishes strong working relationships with staff and customers alike, bringing out the best in everyone.

Kirsty’s role includes:

• Leading the Customer Support team, prioritising work streams and allocating resources to meet customer needs
• Identifying and implementing approaches that improve customer experience and ensure customer satisfaction
• Managing risk and evaluating operational systems, and continuously making improvements
• Ensuring regulatory compliance, and developing and implementing procedures to maintain it.

With more than 30 years of experience working as a people manager, Kirsty thrives on recognising the potential in others and helping them to grow and succeed. She brings the same enthusiasm to acquiring additional knowledge and new skills for herself — making every day a learning day for us all!

With more than 30 years of expertise in sectors that include practice, construction, manufacturing, education and philanthropy, Liz is a fully qualified financial whizz. Through process analysis and problem-solving that demystifies accounting, she works closely with staff at all levels in the Group, providing them quality financial information and setting them up for success in their roles.

Liz’s responsibilities include:

• Managing the entire finance function
• Producing all financial and management accounting information for the Group
• Strategic reporting
• Cash maximisation and control
• Ensuring compliance with all financial regulations
• Working with external stakeholders

At Skills and Education Group, Liz values the opportunity to be herself and have her opinions heard—both professionally and personally. She’s committed to social mobility for all, and recognises that the financial health of our organisation is intrinsically tied to the well-being of our staff, our customers and, ultimately, the many individuals and communities they serve.

Paul has over 35 years’ experience in the post-16 skills sector, including seven years as a lecturer and 13 years managing work-based learning with colleges and independent providers. For the past two decades, he has been on the senior teams of all of the key membership bodies across the further education and skills sector, representing apprenticeship providers and colleges. More recently, along with being the Chief Executive of Skills and Education Group, he has been on the Board of and Chaired the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) representing awarding organisations across the UK. Paul is also a member of the Boards of the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), and the Helena Kennedy Foundation. Paul is also a member of WorldSkills UK’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group.

But he’s no stick-in-the-mud.

Continuously expanding his thinking and building his skills, Paul is responsible for:

• Leading the strategy of the Skills and Education Group and our subsidiaries, and seeking opportunities for the group and subsidiaries to grow and add value
• Ensuring that our whole team is developed and focused on delivering great results for our members and customers
• Working with key partners, stakeholders and influencers to advance our work and our objective to make a real difference in people’s lives
• Linking everything we do back to our charitable objective

Leading by example, Paul understands the need for action, working closely with our team to take on a range of challenges in order to effect change for each and every one of our stakeholders.

In his role, Scott wears a lot of hats … and shirts, ties, trousers and shoes, because he serves our organisation and stakeholders in so many ways. Committed to championing social mobility, he drives the work of our Foundation to financially support learners, education providers and their staff. Likewise, he ensures that our products and services across the Group are on track to best meet the needs of the organisations with which we work. And that’s just for starters.

Some of Scott’s responsibilities include:

• Working with the Executive Leadership team on strategy, policy and finance to ensure that effective management and performance systems are followed
• Managing our awarding services and ensuring quality assurance across Skills and Education Group
• Overseeing our international strategy
• Supporting strong, effective communications and engagement with our customers, membership and stakeholders
• Driving our external affairs activity with key stakeholders including the government
• Facilitating our customer journey to always meet each customer’s unique needs
• Overseeing the strategy behind our professional development and learning programmes.

It sounds like a lot to take on, and it is. But Scott benefits from the same advantages that our customers and members do: the full support of a qualified, passionate team.

Forget about “two shakes of a lamb’s tail”. Simon gets things done in one, because he has the necessary experience and drive grounded in 20 years of further education work and a background in training and development. In designing, implementing and overseeing policies and resources tailored to meet the changing needs of our organisation and our customers, Simon enables Skills and Education Group to do what we do best: foster a workplace environment that provides our staff the ways and means to shine, and support our member organisations in transforming lives through education and skills development.

Some of Simon’s primary roles and responsibilities are:

• Ensuring high standards of customer support are provided to all our customers and embedding our customer charter
• Managing our operational functions that make our organisation work: finance, IT, our premises and resources
• Ensuring we remain compliant by managing and mitigating against risks
• Acting as our Company Secretary and leading on our governance activity across the Group
• Overseeing all contractual and legal matters
• Leading on the development and submission of tender- and project-based activities.

For Simon, our commitment to social inclusion both for our customers and staff is key to delivering services of the highest value. Likewise, he’s committed to further education because of the opportunities it provides to people who might otherwise face barriers to social and economic advancement.

Sue Hartley is at the, ahem, heart of Skills and Education Group’s human resources and operations department. Compassionate, empathetic and supportive, she is motivated by seeing how people thrive when they are supported and respected, and believes people should be at the centre of sound decision-making.

In her role, Sue is responsible for:

• Providing a professional HR service to employees and management
• Managing the recruitment process
• Ensuring that up-to-date HR policies and practices are in place
• Contributing to staff training and development plans
• Managing health and safety, IT and facilities

With an eye for the big picture, Sue brings clarity and practical solutions, whilst maintaining a calm, rational perspective when the going gets tough. Her work plays a key role in our organisation’s ability to support a diverse range of people to continuously develop their skills, abilities, and contribution to the workforce, their families, and their communities.