25 Jan 2007
Craig Crowther has been appointed as Project Director for the National Skills Academy Process Industries, which is made up of the chemicals, pharmaceuticals and polymer industries.
Cogent Chief Executive Joanna Woolf said: “We are delighted that Craig is taking up this important role. He has invaluable experience in people development and a tremendous knowledge of skills issues in the process industries. His background as a member of the Skills and Education Team for the North East Process Industries Cluster (NEPIC) gives him an excellent insight into the issues on the ground.”
Craig is currently Organisational
Development Manager for TTE Technical Training Group, an independent
employer-led technical training and consultancy company, which delivers into the
process industries. It is the largest of its type in the UK. He
will join the Academy on secondment from TTE.
The Academy will focus on
employer-endorsed vocational learning with links into Higher Education and will
consider the skills needs of both the existing and the future workforce. It will
serve companies in chemicals, pharmaceuticals and polymers which combined have a
turnover of £67.1 billion and a Gross Value Added in excess of £23 billion,
which is over 15% of total UK manufacturing
GVA.
Craig will lead on the development
of the Academy Business Plan, which will be put to the Learning and Skills
Council (LSC) and DfES for ministerial approval, in May 2007. A formal
announcement launching the Academy is expected in September 2007. The plan will
set out the structure and delivery routes for the Academy and how it will be
sustainable. It will also set out process employers’ needs: for example the
number of expected learners and how training supply will be accredited and
delivered around the UK.
Craig said:” Technology, science and
chemistry underpin the success of these industries and employers need thousands
of highly skilled and flexible scientists, engineers, production operatives,
managers and leaders. With an ageing workforce and a decline in the number of
technically trained people coming through the system, meeting this demand has
become an imperative.
“It is absolutely vital for our
industries to be able to recruit, develop and retain people with the right
competencies and skills to enable the sector to grow. The Academy is an
essential project for the process industry in the UK.”
Prior to this appointment Craig
spent his career in a number of senior strategic operations and HR roles
including time with Northumbria Police and Thomas Swan Group. He has an MBA
from the University of Durham Business School.
Paul Londesborough, Vice President
of GSK Pharmaceuticals added:” By committing to this opportunity for the sector,
process industry employers are making a major contribution to raising
productivity and performance now and in the future. Our industries have a long
tradition of investing in training and the Academy will bring a tremendous boost
to this.”
Members of Shadow
Board
- David Berridge, Degussa
Ltd
- Tony Birch,
BASF
- Paul Booth, SABIC UK
Petrochemicals
- Jaine Clarke, Learning & Skills
Council
- Gillian Collinson, One
NorthEast
- Stuart Fry, Linecross
Ltd
- Ian Fyfe, Ineos
Olefins
- Mike
Holding, Chemicals Contract Ltd
- John
Holton, Cogent SSC
- Chris Horton, Linpac Plastics
Ltd
- Glyn Hughes, Humber Chemical Focus
- Peter Jackson, Reaxa
Ltd
- Derek Willison-Parry,
GlaxoSmithKline
- Union Representative, TBA
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