Semta appoints interim chief executive

Sector Skills Council Semta has appointed Dr Dolores Byrne OBE as interim chief executive, following the retirement of Philip Whiteman on Friday, 25 May.

Byrne, who was managing director innovation at QinetiQ until 2010, has been a member of Semta's board since 2008, and was also a board member of the South East England Development Agency and chairman of its Science, Engineering and Technology Council.

A chartered engineer with over 35 years' experience in academia, Ministry of Defence and industry, she is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), has served as a trustee and vice president of the IET and chairman of the IET Knowledge Management Board.

Said Semta chairman Allan Cook, chairman of WS Atkins, chairman of SELEX Galileo and deputy chairman of Marshalls Group: "This is a critical time for the advanced manufacturing and engineering sector. Opportunities for growth are being determined by workforce skills. So we are delighted that Dolores will be able to apply her extensive experience of the engineering and technology sector in this interim period."

Said Byrne: "I am pleased to take this interim appointment at a critical stage in the development of Semta: we are in a changing skills landscape where employers have the opportunity to shape provision, and co-invest in the design and delivery of vocational training. Semta is well positioned, with strong employer backing, to make a real difference to the sector's productivity and competitiveness, with a range of targeted services and programmes."

An ageing workforce and continued technical advancements mean that UK engineering and manufacturing businesses need to recruit and train 82,000 engineers, scientists and technologists by 2016 and to upskill 363,000 of the technical workforce to achieve world-class standards.

Semta's skills experts aim to help companies improve their business performance by developing training plans, accessing available funding and quality providers, advising on supply chain skills development and employing an apprentice or a graduate. Support is available through a range of cost-effective training interventions covering leadership and management, technical skills and productivity improvement and through the Semta Apprenticeship Service, which manages and funds apprentice training.

Businesses interested in finding out more should contact Semta Customer Services on 0845 643 9001 or customerservices@semta.org.uk.

Author
Brian Wall

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