Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education chief executive Jennifer Coupland will step down next month to take on a new role at a London university.
She will leave the top job at the government quango after five years in February, ahead of its closure.
Coupland will take on a six-month secondment as pro vice-chancellor, skills portfolio at London South Bank University.
IfATE delivery director Carmel Grant will step in as acting chief executive of the institute.
Legislation is currently making its way through Parliament that transfers all of IfATE’s powers to the Department for Education, paving the way for its new skills body Skills England, which will sit within the DfE as an executive agency.
Coupland took over as IfATE boss in November 2019, two years after the body’s launch. She joined from the DfE where she was director of professional and technical education.
Skills minister Jacqui Smith commended Coupland for her “superb work at IfATE over the last five years, helping to create positive opportunities for apprentices, learners and employers”.
She added: “Skills England will build on this, delivering on our plan for change by boosting economic growth and spreading opportunity through working closely with employers, providers and others to tackle skills gaps across the country.”
Skills England is currently operating in shadow form and still in the recruitment process for a chief executive, board and permanent chair.
Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, IfATE chair, said Coupland has played a “crucial part in all IfATE has achieved to put employers at the heart of the skills system, improving the quality, relevance and perception of technical qualifications and apprenticeships”.
“Under Jennifer’s leadership IfATE has made sure that apprenticeships, T Levels, and Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) are well matched to the economy’s skills needs, so employers and learners can have confidence in government endorsed skills training.
Coupland said she was “delighted” to be joining London South Bank University, which took on Lambeth College in 2019.
“I’ve followed LSBU’s journey over the past 10 years and think it is such an innovative place,” she added.
“With a University, Colleges, and an Academy as part of the group it’s an exciting model with huge potential. I am looking forward to joining the team to support them in developing their Skills offer for the next 5 years of their new strategy.”
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