Director General, Skills

Julia Kinniburgh

Biography

Julia Kinniburgh is the Director General for Skills Group, taking on the role in December 2022.

Prior to this she was Director General for Strategy Group from April to December 2022.

Julia’s previous roles in government include:

Director General for COVID-19 Response and Schools Recovery at the Department for Education
Director General for the Serious and Organised Crime Group at the Home Office
director with responsibility for the national curriculum, national qualifications and school accountability at the Department for Education
senior roles at HM Revenue & Customs and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

She has also held roles with the emergency services and local government.

The director general is a member of the Department for Education’s leadership team and attends both the implementation and management committees.

The role is responsible for:

higher and further education strategy and policy
apprenticeships
T Levels
student finance and the lifelong loan entitlement
further education provision, quality, restructuring and intervention
the adult education budget and 16 to 19 funding
workforce development, upskilling and lifetime learning, including skills bootcamps
careers and basic skills, including Multiply
analysis and data, including the exploitation of big data for further and higher education, and the Unit for Future Skills
sponsorship of:
- the Office for Students
- the Student Loans Company