Diane Lawson appointed NSA Social Care CEO

The National Skills Academy for Social Care has appointed Diane Lawson as its new chief executive.

Ms Lawson, who has vast experience of social care, ranging from staff development in mental health hospitals and acute units to general manager of the Australia Human Resources Institute, will begin at the Skills Academy on 18 July. She replaces Liz McSheehy, whose next step remained unclear at the time of going to press.

English born, but raised in Australia from the age of ten, Ms Lawson is currently working as Interim Director of Education and Training at the Solicitors Regulation Authority, but is eager to return to social care.

In a statement, she said: “I am thrilled to be taking on this important role. We all know the challenges facing the sector, and it is vital that the social care workforce feels empowered to lead and manage so that people using services received excellent care.”

The academy, which focuses on leadership, management and commissioning and modelling excellence in learning in adult social care, identified Ms Lawson as the ideal candidate to oversee changes in an industry where social care workforce is predicted to rise to 2.5 million by 2025.

David Sherlock, chair of the Skills Academy, said: “We are delighted that Diane has accepted this appointment. We look forward to welcoming her to the skills academy.”

Andrew Knight