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New appointments at Cogent, TACK International and FSSC

SSC performance culture needs to mirror industry says new Cogent CEO

Cogent SSC Ltd, the Sector Skills Council for Chemicals, Nuclear, Oil and Gas, Petroleum and Polymers has announced the appointment of Joanna Woolf as Chief Executive to succeed John Ramsay.

Woolf, whose career started in 1982 as a graduate engineer with BP, and was most recently Operations Director for Albion Chemicals, will be taking up the post on 8th August.

She said: "I have worked in the challenging and exciting environment of performance-driven organisations, where understanding what makes the difference to your performance is key.

"My experience has proved that having people with the right skills is fundamental to business success. I am, however, acutely aware of the difficulty of motivating businesses, and individuals, to invest time and resources into developing skills.

"The challenge for Sector Skills Councils like Cogent is to show that we can make a difference for employers if they engage with us now and act collectively for the long-term health of their businesses and the UK. It will be no surprise, therefore, that I believe Cogent must practise what we preach so that we are valued by the industries we represent. I will be steering Cogent to be more industry-focused, more results-orientated, more intelligent and leaner and more business-like in our operations.

"Our Sector Skills Agreement process is designed to reveal for our sector the strengths and weaknesses in skills and skills provision, so that we can inform and advise employers about their necessary interventions and investments.

"For our advice to be accepted and acted upon by businesses we need to shape a dedicated and focused team with the credibility that comes from understanding and experience of employers' individual and collective needs."

TACK International Hires New Head of Operations and Training

TACK International has announced the appointment of Nick Washington-Jones as Head of Operations and Training.

An experienced international management consultant and sales trainer, Washington-Jones joins the sales, and sales management training and development organisation and is responsible for course management, course research and development and course delivery by TACK trainers.

Rob Barham, CEO of TACK International commented, "We’re really excited about the new perspective Nick will bring to TACK’s management team. Nick will help us build on our history and credibility to position TACK as a global provider of training, change management and consultancy."

Washington-Jones said: "Customers are rightly demanding more from the time and financial investment they make in training and the onus is on us to find innovative ways to give them the returns they are seeking. TACK has a number of tools to measure return on investment which enable clients to measure how our interventions have helped their employees to raise their contribution to the company."

Origen Chief Executive joins Sector Skills Council board

Gareth Marr, Chief Executive of Origen, has joined the board of the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC).

Commenting on his appointment, Marr said: "I am delighted to be joining the FSSC at this very exciting time in its development and look forward to working with the board to address the skills issues facing the financial services industry."

Marr, who has led Origen since its formation in 2004, has more than 30 years of financial services experience. He has been Deputy Chairman of the Financial Intermediaries, Managers and Brokers Regulatory Association (FIMBRA) and Chairman of the Association of Pensioneer Trustees, and has worked with a range of committees for the FSA, the SIB and the PIA.

Teresa Sayers, Chief Executive of the FSSC, said: "Gareth's knowledge and experience of working within financial services will be invaluable as the FSSC continues to represent the views of employers across all areas of the financial services industry."

The board of the Financial Services Skills Council is chaired by the Group Chief Executive of Legal & General, Sir David Prosser, and includes directors of banks and building societies as well as representation from trade unions and HM Treasury. The FSSC aims to improve productivity and business performance by ensuring that the industry is equipped with the range and level of skills that it needs.

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