Key appointments at process skills academy

The academy’s central hub is based at the University of Teesside’s Innovation Centre and the new appointments are the first stage in a recruitment process that will see it eventually create a further five new roles across the UK. Leading the new team is CEO Philip Jones, who takes over from interim CEO Craig Crowther. Formerly in charge of leading the High Growth Programme for East Midlands Development Agency, Jones’ career has also included time at BASF in senior HR roles and as general manager for its biocides business. Supporting him is new business development manager Ian Mains, a former senior executive at Aesica Pharmaceuticals in Cramlington, Northumberland and previously business manager at the North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC). He will be responsible for the growth of the Skills Academy to cover the whole of the UK, managing the Regional Skills Team. Former Cogent director of research and policy Liz Rooney, who has been on secondment to the Skills Academy for the past year, working on its business plan and that of the National Skills Academy Nuclear, takes up the post of skills development manager. She will be responsible for managing the Accreditation of Prior Learning scheme, which will see employers assessed against the Skills’ Academy’s new training Gold Standard, to be developed in association with employers. Also joining the new team is network development manager Neil Smith, who joins from his former post as skills development manager of the Learning & Skills Council, North West Region. He will be responsible for developing the provider network for the industry sector. The Skills Academy has also appointed four regional skills managers who will manage regional spokes based in the North East, North West, East and West Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humber. Further appointments will be made in the South East, South West, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Midlands spoke will be headed up by Neil Wilkinson, formerly partnership manager with the Sector Skills Development Agency and national business development manager at Skillfast-UK. Iain Taylor, who previously held a retained consultant role at North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC), takes charge of the Yorkshire and Humber spoke, working from two bases at Humber Chemical Focus in Stallingborough, and Yorkshire Chemical Focus in Huddersfield. The North East spoke will be managed from Sunderland by Kevin Thrower, former HR manager at GlaxoSmithKline’s Barnard Castle site. Leading the North West spoke will be Roger Langford, working from Chemicals Northwest in Runcorn.