Tom Crotty of INEOS to succeed John Beacham as Chair of Cogent SSC
20 Jun 2011
Tom Crotty of INEOS has been confirmed as the next chairman of Cogent Sector Skills Council to succeed Dr. John Beacham CBE who retires in mid-June 2011.
Tom is Corporate Affairs Director of INEOS; Chair of INEOS ChlorVinyls and currently President of the European Petrochemicals Association. He is also a board member of Plastics Europe and sits on the UK’s CBI Climate Change Board.
Joanna Woolf, Cogent CEO paid tribute to outgoing Chair, John Beacham. “John has provided inspirational and clear leadership for the Board and helped Cogent develop its reputation and credibility and our capacity to support employers ‘skills needs. The science-based industries have been well served by John’s input through Cogent and his insightful navigation through the changing world of skills policies. Board members and colleagues in Cogent would like to thank John and hope that he will keep an interested eye on our development and direction under incoming Chair Tom Crotty.”
“I am sad to be leaving,” John told the Cogent Board, “because I have been so impressed with the commitment from members and their businesses to drive the skills agenda forward through Cogent. I was delighted that Tom Crotty accepted our invitation to succeed me as Chair. His agreement to steer Cogent is a great vote of confidence in Joanna and her team and their ambitions for the science-based industries”.
Tom Crotty’s instalment as Chairman comes at a time when Cogent is gearing up to deliver ambitious projects with employers, including creating a one-voice approach for Life Sciences, creating more apprentices and driving more companies to upskill and benchmark against the Cogent Gold Standard.
Tom is already a recognised advocate for skills development for the process industries and he is enthusiastic about taking up the reins from John Beacham.
“I am looking forward to working with Cogent, its National Skills Academies and businesses across the sector to help the UK’s science-based industries punch above their weight in the global economy. I’ve seen how Cogent’s model of research, consultation and skills forecasting provides employers and government with the intelligence to develop and deploy our scientific and technical skills to best effect. “
“As somebody with a long career in highly regulated industries I appreciate the standards and mechanisms that Cogent has created to demonstrate competence. Cogent‘s Gold Standard provides an industry-endorsed competency framework that can drive better individual performance and improved productivity. My challenge to Cogent and industry will be to get more companies to embrace the concept and sign up to the Gold Standard at all levels.”
“In an era of achieving more with less public money the UKCES will look to invest in skills projects that will deliver sustainable and meaningful impact. To do that we’ll need the continued partnership of employers, who are inspired by our vision and ambition for the sector. I look forward to playing my part in that dialogue with industry and in moving Cogent on to the next chapter.”
