Christopher Duff has been appointed as the first chief executive of the new
Sector Skills Development Agency which became operational on 1 April.
Announced by Adult Skills Minister John Healey, the appointment took effect
on 8 March and will run for an initial period of three years. It follows the
appointment of Margaret Salmon as SSDA chairwoman.
Former chief executive of Rotherham Chamber of Commerce and Rotherham
Training and Enterprise Council, Duff became chief executive of the South
Yorkshire Learning and Skills Council at its inception in March 2001. He spent
five years at KPMG Management Consulting in London, and worked at the Scottish
Development Agency and as head of policy and corporate planning at the London
Docklands Development Corporation.
Healey commented: "Christopher’s wide-ranging experience in the public
and private sectors will be invaluable to the new Sector Skills Development Agency.
"I want the SSDA under Margaret and Chris to signal a new beefed-up
approach to tackling skills shortages on a sector basis. Chris’s appointment
reflects Government commitment to increasing the skills and productivity of the
workforce in partnership with industry, commerce and the public sector."
Duff said: "I am pleased to be in at the start of this great new
project and to be working with Margaret Salmon. We aim to put in place a
substantive and highly credible network of SSCs that can speak authoritatively
and effectively for employer and business needs. I am committed to achieving
this and look forward to making early progress."
See what next for the LSCs on page10 and an update on SSCs on page 15
