Sir Alan Jones, Chairman of Toyota - Diploma Champion for Employers.

Sir Alan will work with employers who believe in the value and benefits that Diplomas will bring to both employers and the individual and help communicate the positive experiences and value for early users to a wide variety of employers.

Sir Mike Tomlinson former Chief Inspector of Schools and currently chair of the Learning Trust on Hackney - Diploma Champion for Schools and Colleges.

Sir Mike is ideally placed to take forward this role given his work over many years to support schools and colleges in raising standards and his recent experience of the 14-19 agenda.  He will be involved in raising general understanding of the nature and scale of the reform programme with schools and colleges, focusing particularly on the new Diplomas.  He will help schools and colleges to deliver the new Diplomas in an exciting and innovative way, involving employers and Higher Education along the way. 

Professor Deian Hopkin, Vice Chancellor, Southbank University - Diploma Champion for Higher Education.

Professor Hopkin will raise awareness and improve understanding of the reforms at both strategic and operational levels by senior managers, admissions tutors and academics across the higher education sector. He will encourage the involvement of all member institutions in the development of reforms.  

Professor Michael Arthur, Vice Chancellor, University of Leeds - Higher Education Champion for the Russell Group.

Professor Arthur will help to ensure that the new Diplomas can also support the widening participation agendas for research intensive institutions.

The Diploma Champions will help to raise awareness, support the implementation and increase take up of these new qualifications. The first five Diplomas, including engineering, will be ready for teaching in September 2008. By 2013, all young people will have access to all 14 Diplomas meeting a wide range of aspirations: providing exciting challenge, different learning in fresh settings. They will also ensure a vital grounding in essential Maths and English, which is also being addressed through current curriculum changes at GCSE.

Alan Johnson said  “The 14 -19 Diplomas will appeal to young people and encourage more to continue in education to get they skills they need.  They represent one of the most thrilling educational developments anywhere in the world and we're investing money and time in ensuring that we get them right.  The Diplomas have the potential to pull down the wall between vocational and academic qualifications; replacing it with a bridge between theoretical and practical learning which has been so successful elsewhere in Europe and which works for young people, higher education institutions and business. 

“But no single college or school will be capable of delivering them alone. They must work in partnership with businesses, schools, and colleges. I am delighted and confident that our four Diploma Champions will take this challenging agenda forward and work with their peers to guarantee the success of this ground breaking qualification.”

Sir Mike Tomlinson said  "Successful delivery of the specialised Diplomas is vital not only for their capacity to meet the future skills needs of the country but also because they will offer all students applied learning routes with clear progression to higher education and employment.   I look forward in helping to make the Diplomas a resounding success.’

Deian Hopkin said  'The 14-19 reforms are a major step toward helping young people to develop the skills which  will help them as individuals but also helping the country as a whole to face increasing global competition in the years to come. In order to succeed, however, the new curriculum crucially needs the partnership of universities and I am delighted to have been asked to take on this role. The scale of the reforms is huge and will, I believe, have a great impact on higher education generally.'

Michael Arthur said "We need to give our youngsters every possible chance of fulfilling their potential and I am delighted to welcome this imaginative development.  The Diploma will sit alongside A levels and the baccalaureate, providing us with an entire suite of entry qualifications for higher education."