A civil servant who led the Department for Education’s response to the Grenfell Tower blaze has been appointed as its new director for apprenticeships.

Rory Kennedy has taken the reins from David Hill, and is now responsible for the whole apprenticeships programme, as well as a number of other important policy areas including the levy, the target for three million apprenticeships starts by 2020, and the work of the Institute for Apprenticeships.

Mr Hill, who was appointed in October 2015, left the role in July and was replaced on an interim basis by Carl Creswell, the DfE’s deputy director of apprenticeships.

He then left the position himself earlier this month to become director for better regulation at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Mr Kennedy’s start date has not yet been confirmed but it is “expected to be some time from mid-October onwards”, according to an email from the DfE.

He has already been working with the DfE: after finishing a year on secondment to Haringey council as assistant director for schools and learning, he has led the department’s response to the Grenfell tragedy since July.

According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Kennedy has been a policy manager at the DfE since 2004, spending time as the relationship manager for the New Schools Network, when he designed free school applications and assessment processes.

Then between June 2008 and April 2010 he was head of exams delivery, and also enjoyed a stint as the policy manager responsible for the Building Schools for the Future programme.

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