A new sector leadership thinktank has appointed former National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace) policy director Mark Ravenhall as its chief executive.

The Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL) announced the appointment this morning (July 25).

The thinktank has also launched a basic website where people from across the sector can sign-up to its mailing list.

Mr Ravenhall said: “I’m excited to be joining FETL at this critical time for FE.

“I’m looking forward to meeting leaders and stakeholder organisations across the whole sector as soon as possible and launching our first round of grants and fellowships in September.

“Inspirational leadership is critical to the success of learners in FE and training in the UK.  I feel employers, learning providers and individuals will all benefit from the work of the trust.”

Mr Ravenhall was director of policy and impact at Niace from 2001-2013.

He has since worked as a freelance with Niace and other organisations on projects including the European Commission’s Agenda for Adult Learning.

The thinktank has a budget of up to £5.5m from funds remaining from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), which ceased to exist last July.

Former LSIS chair Dame Ruth Silver, who is founding president of FETL, said: “I am delighted that FETL has appointed Mark.

“What we do today must inform and improve the sector’s future and Mark will play a key role in leading this important work.”

Anyone interested in carrying out research for FETL on leadership theory and practice in the sector will be able to apply for grants, fellowships and bursaries from September.

She said: “We will publish the invitation on our website which we launched a couple of weeks ago.

“It is about the leadership of thinking and thinking of leadership. The idea is the grants will allow people to take time [off from work if necessary] to carry out the research.

“The website is only very basic at the moment, but it will gradually develop in the months ahead as FETL evolves.”

Visit www.fetl.org.uk to see FETL’s website.

Photo caption: The Further Education Trust for Leadership chief executive Mark Ravenhall

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6 Comments

  1. FELecturer

    “The thinktank has a budget of up to £5.5m …”

    Once again money is being wasted. This is £5,500,000 that could be used to actually run courses rather than thinking about running courses!

    When are we going to see some common sense on funding?

    • A useful reminder to get as much funding to the front line as possible. But there are many reasons why this often doesn’t happen. Research has shown that one of them is rigidity in the public funding systems in the UK (different in each home nation) and the another is the ability of leadership to get funding to the front line. Another issue is what sort of FE will people get when they go on courses or learn in the workplace. Quality and curriculum are real concerns for some employers and members of the public. I’ve been fortunate to visit many colleges, training providers and adult education institutions where they get this right through great leadership and levering in private / individual funding alongside diminishing public spending. FETL’s funding is not public funding, and there are no plans for the Trust to attract public funding. Although we will not report to the taxpayer, clearly what we do is in the public interest and therefore we will as a charity publish an impact statement. The Trust aims to ultimately benefit learners in the UK. But there are many ways to do that. Our role is through leadership alongside other organisations who make a useful contribution in this field. Hope this helps to explain our thinking.

      • Leslie Brissett

        Leadership thinking is vital if we are going to see the FE Sector continue to be world-class in the changing economies and realities that UK cities and regions face. This is great news, both to have Dame Silver and Mark at the helm!
        Great team, let’s all get behind the initiative and elevate our Sector for the sake of our learners.
        FE Governor@Westminster Kingsway

  2. FE Commissionaire

    Interesting how Gazelle generates such fury, when the The Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL) can just take £5.5m of public funds for its own (albeit charitable) purposes. Just who is that wants FETL, and ultimately who will benefit? My advice is to stop knocking colleges trying to innovate, and start looking at this unaccountable intermediary organisations.