Skills England Appointments Confirmed

The Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has also announced that Phil Smith CBE will chair Skills England, the new nationwide body for skills, with Sir David Bell serving as Vice Chair. Tessa Griffiths and Sarah Maclean will jointly serve as CEO, while Gemma Marsh will serve as Deputy CEO. 

The confirmations were announced in the recent Functional Skills and shorter duration Apprenticeship announcements from DfE that are anticipated to create 10,000 more Apprenticeship starts.

The sector has been asking for clarity on the flexibilities for Apprenticeships and the direction of Skills England since the summer. So today has seen a number of massive announcements to help with the future direction of Skills England and flex in Apprenticeships.

Big Appointments confirmed during NAW25

Phil Smith will replace Richard Pennycook CBE, who was the first Interim Chair of Skills England and was interim chair of Skills England since July 2024. Phil Smith was previously Chair of Cisco for UK and Ireland for 23 years and Chairman of Innovate UK for over six years.

Phil Smith CBE said: 

“I know from my time in industry how valuable direct engagement from employers can be in shaping government policy.   

“We need a dynamic skills system that can drive economic growth, and I’m excited to be involved in shaping Skills England as part of that.”   

Sir David Robert Bell is a British public policy expert and academic leader who is currently Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Sunderland since 2018. Previously, he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading from 2012 to 2018. His distinguished career in public service includes serving as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education and its predecessor departments (2006-2012), and as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools at Ofsted (2002-2006). Born in March 1959, he holds the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) and is a Deputy Lieutenant (DL).

Sir David Bell said:   

“I look forward to working with Phil Smith, other colleagues in Skills England, and the Department for Education to help deliver economic growth and meet the nation’s skills needs.   

“I know from my experience in public policy and higher education that providing the skilled workforce which Britain requires depends on industry, government and education organisations working together. I am very confident therefore that Skills England will provide the strategic oversight to make that happen.”   

Job Sharing Skills England CEO role

Tessa Griffiths and Sarah Maclean will jointly serve as CEO. They have been job sharing in Senior Civil Service jobs for nearly two decades. On a DfE blog from 2013, they had already been job sharing for seven years. So this is a really interesting development for the CEO’s post and is great to see Skills England adapting flexibilities at the top of the Skills England, which will hopefully trickle down all of Skills England.

Tessa Griffiths and Sarah Maclean were both previously job-sharing as Director of Post-16 Skills and Strategy at DfE and, before that, Director of Covid Response Measures.

Sector Reaction to the Skills England Appointment

Ben Rowland, CEO of AELP (Association of Employment and Learning Providers) comments on the appointment at Skills England of Phil Smith CBE (Chair), Sir David Bell (Vice Chair), Tessa Griffiths and Sarah Maclean (joint CEOs) and Gemma Marsh (Deputy CEO):

“AELP wishes a warm welcome to the newly appointed members of the leadership team at Skills England. They have a big job to do in shaping a skills system which is fit for a modern economy and helps deliver sustained, sustainable economic growth. This will need independence, credibility, and a step up in the pace of change delivered by previous government institutions. We look forward to supporting them to deliver this.”

Olly Newton, Executive Director, Edge Foundation said:

“Edge welcomes confirmation of the appointments of Phil Smith as Chair and Sir David Bell as Vice Chair of Skills England and Tessa Griffiths and Sarah Maclean as joint Chief Executives. They all bring a wealth of experience to the roles. We are looking forward to working with them as Skills England develops. Exciting times ahead.”

AoC Chief Executive David Hughes said:

“I want to warmly welcome the new Chair, Vice Chair and senior team of Skills England to their roles and wish them the best of luck.

“Making Skills England a success is vital to building a more coherent, collaborative, inclusive and successful post-16 education and skills system, and we look forward to working with them on that.” 

Rob Nitsch, CEO of the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB), commented:

“It is great to see the announcement of the leadership of Skills England, which will help everyone to move forward; we look forward to working with the new team and continuing our positive relationship with Tessa and Sarah, particularly around the agility and speed of the approvals system and pan-UK coherence.

“We also welcome the Government’s evident commitment to deploying apprenticeships more effectively as the country seeks growth; they have so much to offer the economy, business and individuals.  However, we must also maintain the standard of every apprenticeship, whatever their length; ensuring that we do not compromise on assessment will be a key component of this.”