Transparency data

Summary of the board meeting held on 17 September 2025

Updated 8 December 2025

Applies to England

Protective marking

Official

Attendees and presenters

Board members present

• Phil Smith CBE (Chair)
• Sir David Bell (Vice Chair)
• Dr Fiona Aldridge
• Dr Fazal Dad CBE
• Sian Elliott
• Nicki Hay MBE
• Brian Holliday
• Anthony Impey MBE
• Dame Fiona Kendrick (via teleconference)
• Zoe Lewis CBE
• Sara Todd
• Andy Westwood
• Helen Woodward Davies (via teleconference)
• Tessa Griffiths CBE (CEO)
• Sarah Maclean CBE (CEO)
• Gemma Marsh (Deputy CEO)

Skills England officials present

• Lucy Rigler, Deputy Director Corporate Governance and Performance
• Frank Bowley, Deputy Director Insight and Analysis (items 6-7 only)
• Board Secretary

Other stakeholders present

• Head of Skills England and Industry Training Board (ITB) Sponsorship team (DfE Skills Group)
• Katherine Green, Director General for Labour Market and Adult Skills, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (item 4 only)

Apologies

• None

Item 1: welcome, introductions and declarations of conflict of interest

Lead: Skills England Chair - Phil Smith

1. Phil Smith, (the Chair) welcomed board members and participating officials to the meeting.

2. The Chair asked board members whether they had any new declarations of conflict of interest to make. All board members recognised that should a potential or actual conflict arise (outlined in the declaration of interests) then it must be raised at the outset of the relevant meeting.

Item 2: minutes and actions from the last meeting

Lead: Skills England Chair

1. Board members approved the minutes from the last meeting held on 2 July 2025.

2. Board members reviewed the action log, noting that actions relating to board member roles and responsibilities, sub-group proposals, data and insights and stakeholder engagement were to be discussed at this meeting so were proposed to be closed. Board members noted progress on the 2 remaining open actions regarding the current skills landscape and future items for discussion.

Item 3: board member roles and responsibilities

Lead: Skills England Chair

1. The Chair opened the item highlighting the paper which set out proposed board member roles and responsibilities to facilitate board member engagement. Board members welcomed the proposed approach and the establishment of the Place and Data and Insights sub-groups. They were keen to ensure there was a good information flow between the sub-groups and the board to ensure coherence.

2. In establishing the Place sub-group, board members emphasised early and consistent collaboration. They requested that the terms of reference (ToR) reflect national versus local considerations and be shared with stakeholders for feedback. Members also sought clarity on the differing ToR approaches across sub-groups, which officials agreed to clarify.

3. Board members welcomed the idea of having leads for key Skills England areas and requested secondary leads to support challenge and provide a clear contact for each area.

4. Members noted growing interest in Skills England, resulting in frequent event invitations. They stressed the need for a structured approach to manage demand and promote the message of co-creating solutions with stakeholders.

Action: B/007/25 Officials to re-visit the Place sub-group terms of reference and share with relevant stakeholders.

Action: B/008/25 Officials to clarify differing approaches to the terms of reference between the 2 sub-groups.

Action: B/009/25 Officials to adapt approach to stakeholder engagement based on agreed board member leads.

Item 4: introduction with Katherine Green

Lead: Skills England Chair

1. The Chair welcomed Katherine Green (DWP) to the meeting. She outlined the rationale for transferring Skills England to DWP, aiming to embed skills into labour market activity and support the Government’s skills for growth agenda. Board members welcomed the move, noting opportunities for data sharing and improved access to information. Katherine confirmed a joint DWP–DfE skills hub was being established and offered to share details of the new structure.

2. Members noted DWP’s UK-wide remit and agreed on the need for coherence beyond Skills England’s current scope. The Chair thanked Katherine, and all agreed further engagement between Skills England and DWP would be valuable.

Katherine Green left the meeting.

1. The Chair updated the board on his meeting with the Secretary of State and Skills Minister, who confirmed Skills England’s continued role in co-creating solutions with stakeholders. Members discussed opportunities and risks of the move, emphasising the need for close collaboration with the Department for Business and Trade. They also noted that structural changes can be disruptive and offered support to Skills England officials during the transition.

Action: B/010/25 Skills England officials to invite Katherine Green to a future board meeting.

Action: B/011/25 Officials to share details for future joint working between DfE and DWP.

Item 5: Skills England priorities and deliverables

Lead: CEOs and Deputy CEO, Sarah Maclean, Tessa Griffiths and Gemma Marsh

1. Sarah Maclean briefed the board on her recent appearance at the Business and Trade Select Committee, where interest was expressed in Skills England’s move to DWP. Tessa Griffiths outlined current priorities, noting a mix of legacy and new work. She confirmed the board would review these in light of the DWP transition at the next meeting.

2. Gemma Marsh presented ongoing work, including aligning occupational standards with labour market needs and focusing on Industrial Strategy sectors. The board discussed short courses, employer engagement, and the importance of clear communication. Members also stressed improving apprenticeship access for young people.

3. Board members emphasised the need for accessible products for all stakeholders and portability to support career progression. While welcoming flexibility, they urged continued focus on apprenticeships. Tessa confirmed officials are prioritising the 8 Industrial Strategy sectors and proposed possible areas for discussion at the next meeting: NEETs, youth unemployment, skills passports, and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) engagement.

Action: B/012/25 Board members to discuss new priorities at the next board meeting.

Item 6: stakeholder engagement, insight and comms strategy

Lead: Deputy CEO - Gemma Marsh

1. Gemma introduced the item, highlighting key parts of the strategy, including the need to ensure Skills England is strategic and purposeful in its communications, that Skills England has the facility to retrieve feedback and intelligence and use this to inform policy and how does Skills England effectively use the internal team and the board to maximise information gathering.

2. Board members welcomed the approach and messaging tone, suggesting more concise formats like infographics. They stressed the importance of compelling, transparent, and consistent messaging, and proposed using their networks to amplify Skills England’s message and encourage stakeholder collaboration.

3. In concluding the item, Gemma confirmed officials would continue to iterate the strategy and asked for board members to volunteer to be part of this process.

Action: B/013/25 board members to respond to Gemma to support the further development of the strategy.

Item 7: deep dive into data and insight

Lead: Deputy Director, Insight and Analysis – Frank Bowley

1. Frank presented the proposed data and insight strategy, highlighting both the opportunities, such as August’s ‘Assessment of priority skills to 2030’ report, and current challenges in data collection and analysis. Board members acknowledged the complexity, noting risks like double counting and limited data quality (such as job advert data).

2. Members felt the 3 published Skills England reports added credibility and could help influence government policy. They were keen to explore innovative ways for Skills England to improve data access and collection.

3. Board members suggested that with Skills England moving to be an Executive Agency of DWP, there could be an opportunity to access a wider set of data to support future reporting. Frank confirmed opportunities could exist, but it comes with the need to consider data protection matters.

4. The Chair thanked Frank for his presentation and asked board members to feedback on any thoughts on the research plans and data collection.

Action: B/014/25 board members to provide any additional feedback regarding the planned research and data collection.

Item 8: any other business

1. There was no AOB. The Chair thanked those attending for their contributions and confirmed the next meeting would be a full day event on 19 November.