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Day Two Speakers & Panel

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Paul Warner

Director of Employment and Skills, AELP

Having been a specialist recruitment consultant to the defence industry for six years, Paul started in the post-16 sector in 1993 working on Training for Work contracts for TBG Learning. He subsequently took on a variety of related operational and senior management roles, culminating in a successful tenure as Director of Business Development.

On leaving TBG he worked as a consultant for a time, including a spell managing WBL delivery at Barking College in East London, before joining AELP in September 2003 where he now oversees all aspects of operational and policy delivery, particularly concentrating on the alignment of the skills and employability agendas.

Paul holds a First Class Honours degree in International Relations from the University of Keele, and an MA in Post-Compulsory Education and Training from the University of Sheffield. He is a Director of the Institute of Employability Professionals and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Married with one daughter, hailing from the New Forest but living in Essex, he lists his hobbies as rock music, amateur dramatics and karate.

John Woodcock MP

Shadow Education Minister for Young People

John Zak Woodcock is a Labour Co-operative politician who has been the member of parliament for Barrow and Furness since May 2010.

He was born in Sheffield in 1978 and was educated at Tapton Comprehensive in the city before obtaining a degree in English and History at the University of Edinburgh.

John started his career as a journalist working on the Scotsman before entering politics. He then worked as an aide to John Hutton MP (now Lord Hutton of Furness) before serving as a special adviser to prime minister Gordon Brown.

Upon entering Parliament in 2010 John served as a shadow minister for transport between 2010 and 2013. Following this year’s election he has been reappointed to Labour’s front bench as shadow minister for young people. The brief will involve responsibility for 14 to 19 age group apprenticeships, vocational education, youth services and careers advice.

John is the dad of two young girls and is a keen follower of Barrow AFC, Barrow Raiders and Sheffield Wednesday, the team he grew up with.

Martin Dunford OBE

Chief Executive, Skills Training UK & Chairman, AELP

Martin is the Chairman of AELP and Chief Executive of Skills Training UK. His company Skills Training UK is a Prime Contractor to the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP), the Education Funding Agency (EFA) delivering the Study Programme and the Youth Contract for 16 -17 year old NEETS and to the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) for Apprenticeships and Traineeships. Martin has been involved in the promotion and delivery of vocational education and skills and Apprenticeships for over twenty years. Martin was a founding member of AELP and has been elected as its Chairman for each of the last ten years. In addition, Martin was a member of the End to End Review of Modern Apprenticeships, on the Advisory Panel to the Foster Review of Further Education and a Board member of both the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) and the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA). He was also a long standing member of both the Further Education & Skills Ministerial Advisory Panel and the Apprenticeship Ambassador’s Network. Martin was awarded an OBE in the 2010 New Year’s Honours list for services to skills training.

David Russell

Chief Executive, The Education and Training Foundation

David joined the Education and Training Foundation as CEO in January 2014. He has grown the Foundation from a fledgling organisation to one delivering effective support programmes for leaders, teachers and others across the education and training system. Educated in Scotland, David has a wide range of experience in design and delivery of national education policy, including as Director of Vocational Education and of the National Curriculum at DfE. David is a qualified teacher and an experienced school and College Governor.

Peter Marples

3AAAs

Profile to be published shortly.

Jennifer Coupland

Deputy Director, DfE/BIS Apprenticeships Unit

Jennifer Coupland is Deputy Director of the joint DfE/BIS Apprenticeships Unit and is responsible for all aspects of the current apprenticeship programme including delivering government’s ambitious 3 million apprenticeships target. Before taking up this post in May 2013, Jennifer was responsible for policy on Traineeships, Raising the Participation Age and NEET.

Jennifer began her public service career in the Employment Service where she ran a benefit section in a local office and delivered a range of programmes to support long term unemployed people into work.

Douglas McCormick

Chief Executive, Sweett Group and UKCES Commissioner

Douglas McCormick is CEO of Sweett Group, a global provider of professional services for the construction and management of building and infrastructure projects. He has over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry with a background in quantity surveying and project management.

Douglas holds an MSc in Construction Management, a BSc in Quantity Surveying and is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He is a Commissioner for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, a non-executive Director of the Institute for Collaborative Working and sits on the Editorial Board of Rail Review Magazine.

Mark Dawe

Chief Executive, OCR

Mark Dawe was appointed Chief Executive of OCR in 2010. He is currently a governor of Sawston Village College and vice chair of Stapleford Community Primary School. He is also a member of the Business in the Community Education Leadership Group. Previously he has been a corporation member of Lewisham College as well as being on a variety of National Boards and a Trustee of VTCT. Mark was Principal and Chief Executive of Oaklands College in Hertfordshire. He has a wealth of experience across a broad spectrum in the education field. Prior to his role at Oaklands College, Mark was Deputy Director, FE Strategy at the Department of Education and Skills having joined as Deputy Director, Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit in 2003. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, Mark joined Canterbury College, becoming Head of Corporate Services in 1994. In 2000, he helped set up eGS, an e-procurement provider to the public sector. In his spare time he is a scout leader, cycles and supports Plymouth Argyle!

Stewart Segal

Chief Executive, AELP

Stewart Segal was appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer of AELP in 2013. Stewart has worked in the funded work based learning sector for over 20 years and in particular has supported AELP since its formation. Stewart worked as an independent consultant within the training sector, working with a number of training providers and colleges specialising in business development and funding issues.

Following a background in HR and general management in the private sector Stewart joined Hertfordshire Training and Enterprise Council in 1994 as Chief Executive until 1998 when Stewart joined Spring Skills as Chief Executive in 1998. Spring Skills was then the largest independent training provider in the sector involved in the delivery of a range of programmes in the service sectors such as retail, customer services, hospitality and business administration.

Professor Dan Finn

Professor of Social Inclusion, University of Portsmouth

Dan Finn is Professor of Social Inclusion at the University of Portsmouth and Associate Director at the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion. He has undertaken and managed many comparative studies of activation policies and the design and delivery of welfare benefits and labour market programmes. Dan has a particular interest in contracted out employment services and has completed research into such reforms in the UK, USA, the Netherlands and Australia. Dan has been a special adviser for parliamentary inquires and consultant for the World Bank, European Commission and OECD.

Laura-Jane Rawlings

Founder and CEO, Youth Employment UK

Laura-Jane is the founder and CEO of Youth Employment UK CIC. Laura-Jane’s youth employment experience spans over 15 years and ranges from recruiting young people into entry level and apprenticeship roles to working for an Education Business Partnership supporting employer engagement, careers and work related learning in education.

Laura-Jane’s expertise includes careers education, employability training and transition into employment. Laura-Jane is a passionate advocate of young people and ensuring that young people are consulted on the policies and issues that affect them.

Youth Employment UK CIC is a membership organisation that specialises in youth employment and includes a large membership of 16-24 year olds and a national ambassador network. Working with government, employers and organisations invested in youth employment Laura-Jane ardently campaigns for a Youth Friendly UK.

Peter Lauener

Chief Executive, SFA & EFA

Peter is the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer for the Education Funding Agency and the Skills Funding Agency.

The EFA is an executive agency of the Department for Education and is responsible for the majority of the DfE’s funding of the education system - £54bn in 2013-14. The EFA fund all state-provided education to 8 million children ages 3 to 16 and 1.6 million young people aged 16 to 19 providing additional support to those with high needs.

SFA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and is responsible for the funding of skills training for further education (FE) in England. SFA supports over 1,000 colleges, private training organisations, and employers with more than £4 billion of funding each year.

Peter was appointed Chief Executive and Accounting Officer when the Education Funding Agency (EFA) was formed in April 2012 and to the role of Chief Executive of the Skills Funding Agency in November 2014. Peter holds both roles concurrently and has separate accountability for each agency’s budget.

Starting his career as an economist in the Government Economic Service, Peter has also worked in organisations such as the Scottish Office (pre-devolution), the Manpower Services Commission, the Department for Education and Employment and the Government Office network. He was appointed Chief Executive of the Young People’s Learning Agency in September 2010.

Chris Peel

Managing Director, Interserve Learning & Employment

Chris is the Managing Director of Interserve Learning & Employment UK, the company created following the acquisition of esg in December 2014 and its subsequent merger with Interserve’s existing employability division, formerly known as Interserve Working Futures. Interserve Learning & Employment's portfolio includes two Work Programme Prime Contracts and is one of the largest private sector providers of Apprenticeships operating nationally and delivering across a broad range of sectors.

Chris has worked in outsourced public services for over 10 years and through several senior roles, has developed a passion for innovation and taking to market new solutions for front-line services. He is also a Board Member of Rehab JobFit, a Trustee at Aspire, a national charity supporting the spinally injured and a Non-Executive Director at Aspire Law.