The Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) has announced Tim Bennett-Hart as its new chair.
Bennett-Hart (pictured), chief executive of RSL Awards, will take over from current chair and CEO of Lifetime Training Charlotte Bosworth on February 10 when the federation’s next annual general meeting is held.
NCFE CEO David Gallagher was due to replace Bosworth as FAB chair following an election in November but he has informed the federation of his intention to step down due to health reasons.
A re-election process was subsequently held with the federation’s board this month, with Bennett-Hart confirmed as chair and Kelle McQuade, chief operating officer of Training Qualifications UK (TQUK), elected as vice chair.
Bennett-Hart said he was “honoured” to take on the role at a critical moment for awarding bodies.
“This is a hugely important time for the industry and the federation has a key role to play in representing the views of members and fashioning outcomes that will deliver betterment for learners,” he said.
“I am looking forward to the challenge and continuing the great work Charlotte Bosworth has done for our membership.”
Bennett-Hart joined RSL Awards, a specialist education body for the creative arts, in 2018 as academic director and was promoted to CEO in 2022. RSL works across 50 countries offering graded and vocational qualifications, and has subsidiary businesses in Spain, India and China.
FAB’s website said Bennett-Hart has had a diverse career as a commercial songwriter and an academic at the University of Sussex, before focusing on vocational creative education in FE and HE.
McQuade, who joined TQUK in 2017 after spending 13 years at Milton Keynes College where she oversaw curriculum planning and quality assurance, said: “Awarding organisations are in the midst of unprecedented change. It could not be more important for the federation to play its part and represent the views of members in a balanced and impactful manner.
“I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to play a part as the vice chair of the federation’s board and am looking forward to the challenge.”
Significant items of reform facing the awarding sector currently include a shake up to apprenticeship assessment and major changes to the level 3 and below landscape amid the creation of V Levels and defunding of competing qualifications.
Rob Nitsch, FAB’s CEO, said: “I am delighted that Tim and Kelle have been elected as the chair and vice chair of the federation respectively. They represent the breadth of our membership and are absolutely committed to the collective and individual success of awarding organisations and contributing to this.
“This is a pivotal time for our industry; we are all looking forward to working even more closely with them in the coming months and years.”
FAB currently has a record number of members – 161, which is just over 85 per cent of the government technical qualifications in the UK.
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