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Paul Warner, Conference Chair
Director of Employment and Skills
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| Having been a specialist recruitment consultant to the defence industry for six years, Paul started in the post-16 sector in 1993 working on Training for Work contracts for TBG Learning. He subsequently took on a variety of related operational and senior management roles, culminating in a successful tenure as Director of Business Development. On leaving TBG he worked as a consultant for a time, including a spell managing WBL delivery at Barking College in East London, before joining AELP in September 2003 where he now oversees all aspects of operational and policy delivery, particularly concentrating on the alignment of the skills and employability agendas. Paul holds a First Class Honours degree in International Relations from the University of Keele, and an MA in Post-Compulsory Education and Training from the University of Sheffield. He is a Director of the Institute of Employability Professionals and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Married with one daughter, hailing from the New Forest but living in Essex, he lists his hobbies as rock music, amateur dramatics and karate. |
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Stewart Segal
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| Stewart Segal was appointed to the role of AELP Chief Executive in July 2013. He has worked in the funded work based learning sector for over 20 years and in particular has supported AELP since its formation. Previously, 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 TEC in 1994 as Chief Executive. He also worked at the TEC for 4 years prior to joining 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. Stewart is also a Director of the Talent Foundation a not for profit network of organisation committed to the development of talent at work |
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Jenny Williams
Director of Vocational Education and Training
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| Jenny has over 20 years’ experience of developing policy and practice in further and adult education and training locally, regionally and nationally. Prior to transferring to the Education and Training Foundation in 2013, she led the work of the Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning and was the author of the Commission’s report It’s about work… Excellent adult vocational teaching and learning. Before joining LSIS in 2010, Jenny managed the NIACE Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning and co-authored two of the Inquiry’s supplementary research papers; on public and private investment in adult learning, and work and learning. At local level, Jenny started her career at Dorset Training and Enterprise Council, before moving to Southampton to run the City’s adult learning service and develop its Learning City strategy. After a secondment as policy adviser to the executive director and chair of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight LSC, she spent 4 years as NIACE’s regional development officer for the South East, promoting and developing adult learning linked to regional economic and social policy, and led a £1.8 million ESF co-financed project to develop a network of learning communities with public, private and third sector partners. |
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Keith Donnelly - Panel
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| Keith has been involved in construction work based learning for over 40 years. His experience includes managing the largest employer based apprentice training provider in construction, to representing the sector on a number of government committees, working parties and task forces. Keith is passionate about construction apprenticeship training and champions the involvement of employer based and independent providers in work based learning programmes. Keith is a member of the SFA technical funding and SAP/FETAG advisory groups, the Construction Skills Training and Skills Provision committees, as well as being the AELP Skills Champion for Construction. |
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Pat Carrington MBA, FCMI - Panel
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| Pat has worked in the Adult and Community Learning sector for the past 10 years and has, for the last 4 years, been Principal of City College Peterborough and Head of the Adult Learning Service for Peterborough City Council. Prior to this, Pat worked in the business sector working for large companies like Coca Cola as well as small local businesses that operated nationally. Pat has a national and regional profile for adult education. She is a director of AAETO, a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee who are the executive board of HOLEX. She is the HOLEX National Policy Lead for LEPs and localism, and study skills, traineeships and apprenticeships; sits on the National LEAFEA Executive committee as the National Lead for Leadership and Governance; sits on the regional Ofsted Reference Group for raising standards and attainment in the Eastern region and sits on and supports many local strategic boards. She also chairs the local network of the Chartered Management Institution and the Peterborough Skills Partnership Strategy Board. She is passionate about adult education and the idea of lifelong learning, especially in providing a second chance for those adults who have not succeeded in the school system. She holds an MBA, is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and has just completed the first year of a four -year (part time) Professional Doctorate in Business. |
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Verity O’Keefe - PanelSenior Employment and Skills Policy Adviser
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| Working alongside our Head of Employment and Skills, Verity is responsible for developing our skills policy. She responds to government consultations and inquiries on employment, skills and education issues. She also supports our National Employment and Skills Policy Committee as well as leading our north-east skills group. Verity regularly appears in print media where she writes about why it's important that manufacturers have access to the right quality and quantity of skills. She has represented the views of manufacturers on a number of high-level stakeholder groups, including the Richard Review of Apprenticeships. Verity is the co-author of our Skills for Growth report and our report on improving the quality and quantity of graduate level skills. Prior to joining EEF, Verity worked at the London Chamber of Commerce, where she took the lead on skills and education policy, and authored a report on the impact of the government’s migration policy on London businesses. |
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Rachel Mallaband
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| Rachel Mallaband has worked in vocational education policy in the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills since 2013. Her current traineeships role follows that of funding policy in BIS developing the annual Skills Funding Statement for the Adult Skills Budget. Previously, Rachel held the role of Business Change and Communications Manager for the Insolvency Service’s Enabling the Future programme, and management roles within offices of both the Official Receiver and Small Business Service in Sheffield. Before joining the civil service Rachel had a varied career including working in the mobility industry, banking and retail. | |
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Tony JohnsonDepartment of Work and Pension |
| Tony Johnson works in the DWP Labour Market Strategy function and is responsible for many of the DWPs policies covering participation in skills by claimants. This includes Traineeships as well as the Budget announced proposal for Jobcentre Plus to work with schools.
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Teresa Frith
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| Teresa Frith has been with AoC since December 2008, taking up the newly created post of Senior Skills Policy Manager. The new role marked the AoC’s recognition of the importance of employer focussed activity to Colleges and the wider community. The role encompasses all aspects of employer related provision, particularly post 19, apprenticeships, enterprise and working with the unemployed. Prior to taking up this post, she spent nearly 20 years working in FE as a Lecturer, Head of Department, Director and SMT member. The vast majority of this time was spent in employer related activity at local and regional levels, particularly around Train to Gain, ESF projects, full cost recovery work and commercial bidding both in partnership and alone. Teresa sits on a number of key national groups where she represents the views of colleges to Government and engages regularly with key stakeholders such as BIS, NAS, SFA, UKCES, AELP and the Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards to ensure colleges have influence over government policy. She also directly supports the AoC Regional Business Development Network and runs the Skills and Enterprise National Portfolio Groups. |
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