The Skills Federation has appointed policy expert Fiona Aldridge as its new leader after spending three years without a chief executive.
Also known as the Federation for Industry Sector Skills & Standards (FISSS), Aldridge will join The Skills Federation this September after leading on employment and skills strategy at the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) for the last two years.
The appointment appears to be part of a refresh for the federation as it looks to expand its remit in “providing an employer voice” in government policy.
Aldridge fills the top position three years after FISSS’ previous CEO Matt Lambert stood down from the role in early 2021, after spending just one year in the post.
He took over from Mark Froud who spent six years at the helm but resigned with immediate effect in 2019. Since 2021, the federation has been run by its board.
In her previous role as head of skills insight at WMCA, Aldridge was part of the negotiations with the government for the employment and skills elements of the combined authority’s trailblazer devolution deal.
Prior to WMCA, Aldridge worked at Learning and Work Institute for nearly 20 years in its policy and research division.
“I am delighted Fiona will be joining us as we support the new government in achieving UK growth ambitions,” said Dame Julie Mellor, chair of The Skills Federation.
“Employer perspectives will be critical to inform the evolution of the skills system to meet skills needs in each sector of our economy.”
Aldridge said: “I am very excited to be joining The Skills Federation at the start of this new government, to help provide an employer voice in the development of skills policy. This will be critical to unlocking ambitions for economic growth and opportunity for all.”
The federation is a membership organisation for 19 UK employer-led bodies focussed on skills and training.
Its members include the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), ScreenSkills and Engineering Construction Industry Training Board industry (ECITB) and altogether represent 150,000 employers, both large and small, across 20 UK sectors.
FISSS previously used to verify whether apprenticeships had been completed successfully before issuing certificates under the old-style frameworks but lost the responsibility in 2017 when the ESFA took over amid the rollout of new-style apprenticeship standards.
The federation also runs ed-tech apprenticeship service ACE360, which joins up training providers to end point assessment organisations and external quality assurance providers to manage apprenticeship delivery and certification.
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