Transparency data

Summary of the board meeting held on 18 March 2026

Updated 17 June 2026

Applies to England

1. Protective marking

Official

2. Attendees and presenters

2.1 Board members present

• Phil Smith CBE (Chair)
• Sir David Bell, (Vice Chair) - via teleconference
• Dr Fiona Aldridge
• Dr Fazal Dad CBE - via teleconference
• Sian Elliott - via teleconference

• Nicki Hay MBE

• Brian Holliday
• Anthony Impey MBE - via teleconference
• Dame Fiona Kendrick
• Zoe Lewis CBE
• Sara Todd - via teleconference
• Andy Westwood
• Helen Woodward Davies
• Tessa Griffiths CBE (CEO)
• Sarah Maclean CBE (CEO)
• Gemma Marsh (Deputy CEO) - via teleconference

2.2 Skills England officials present

• Lucy Rigler, Deputy Director, Governance, Performance and Strategy
• Carmel Grant, Deputy Director, Reform and Development (Item 7 only) - via teleconference
• Sarah Dobson, Head of Corporate Performance and Risk (Item 8 only) - via teleconference
• Carl Purkins, Risk and Second Line Assurance Senior Manager (Item 8 only) - via teleconference
• Board Secretary
• Governance Manager

2.3 Other stakeholders present

• Pete Dolman Skills England Sponsorship Lead (DWP) - via teleconference
• Madeleine Sumption, Interim Chair Migration Advisory Committee (Item 5 only)
• Chris Wright, Migration Advisory Committee Secretariat (Item 5 only) - via teleconference

2.4 Apologies

None

3. Item 1: Welcome, introductions and declarations of conflict of interest

3.1 Lead: Skills England Chair – Phil Smith

1. Phil Smith, (the Chair) welcomed board members and participating officials to the board meeting being held at NCC Innovating for Industry (NCC). He thanked NCC for hosting the board and facilitating the tour.
2. The Chair asked board members whether they had any new declarations of conflict of interest to make. Helen Woodward Davies and Brian Holliday confirmed they had joined the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Employer Advisory Group. 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.

4. Item 2: Minutes and actions from the last meeting

4.1 Lead: Skills England Chair

1. Board members approved the minutes from the meeting held on 21 January 2026.
2. The Chair summarised the list of actions, agreeing to close actions relating to updates on Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA) skills brokerage and 2026/27 deliverables and sharing of insights.

5. Item 3: CEO report

5.1 Lead: CEOs Sarah Maclean and Tessa Griffiths

1. Tessa Griffiths updated the Board on Skills England activity, confirming the progress that teams had made against Skills England’s priorities. Tessa drew attention to the work that the teams had done to support the recent apprenticeship announcements on apprenticeship units and streamlining. She highlighted the battery manufacturing apprenticeship unit as a successful example of Skills England’s fast track development and approval process in action, where teams had worked at pace to deliver a direct request from industry. Skills England is actively supporting the development of the next wave of apprenticeship units.
2. Tessa also highlighted the good work which had come out of the recent youth employability summits Skills England had held. These had seen good levels of engagement from stakeholders and provided helpful insights, which will be published in a Skills England blog shortly. Board members welcomed the insights which had been shared, noting feedback from young people and employers on the value of general employability skills.
3. Gemma Marsh shared an update following stakeholder workshops Skills England had held to develop the MSA brokerage service. Feedback from the workshops had been positive and the intention was to work on live projects with a targeted group. Board members emphasised that pilots needed to aim for scalable solutions.
4. Gemma emphasised the considerable amount of work Skills England is undertaking to implement the apprenticeship assessment reforms, including ongoing engagement with employers and with stakeholders in key sectors.
5. Board members welcomed the recent briefings on topics including the government’s Youth Guarantee, apprenticeship reform, and Skills England’s Investment and Infrastructure Offer. Board members were keen to understand how Skills England has fed into recent policy decisions. Sarah Maclean confirmed Skills England has and is continuing to work closely with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) colleagues to ensure the employer voice, along with Skills England’s insight, data and analysis, is factored into policy decisions.

6. Item 4: Migration Advisory Committee briefing

6.1 Lead: Skills England Chair

1. The Chair welcomed Madeleine Sumption, Interim Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to the meeting.
2. Madeleine explained the work of the MAC and its current priorities, including its work in reviewing the temporary shortage list and how Skills England supports and contributes to the work of the MAC.
3. Board members enquired how the work of the MAC connects to other initiatives such as development of job plans and the next steps. Madeleine explained how the MAC fits in with jobs plans, and the variety of information that the MAC considers. Madeleine highlighted and thanked Skills England for the quality of the data it provided.
4. Board members highlighted the trade-off between developing more home-grown expertise and bringing in overseas expertise in key sectors. Board members also highlighted that MAC might want to consider insight and data from Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) alongside other submissions.
5. The Chair thanked Madeleine for her time.

7. Item 5: 2026-27 Annual Delivery Plan update

7.1 Lead: Lucy Rigler (Deputy Director, Governance, Performance and Strategy)

1. Lucy Rigler presented the proposed deliverables for 2026-27 to the board, building on the work Skills England has delivered in its first year. The identified priorities are a mix of ongoing work and new projects as Skills England becomes an executive agency of DWP.
2. Board members supported the priorities. They were keen to further develop the insight, analysis and action cycle and be clearer on what the data outputs are telling us. Board members welcomed the additional focus on youth employment and suggested that the work on small and medium sized employers (SMEs) would benefit from stronger connectivity to sectors and places. In response to a question on capacity, Sarah Maclean confirmed that available resource had been considered as part of developing the proposals.
3. Board members suggested the employer voice could be further amplified. Officials acknowledged this and Gemma Marsh summarised the work underway to build and evolve how employer and wider stakeholder input is built into Skills England work via a new expert network. Board members requested further information on the plans.

8. Item 6: Skills England’s communications

8.1 Lead: CEOs Sarah Maclean and Tessa Griffiths

1. Sarah Maclean updated the board on Skills England’s communication plans with its stakeholders. Board members noted we should be clear on our key audiences, ensuring we have taken account of the breadth of the employer community. From a messaging perspective, board members highlighted the demand from stakeholders to understand the impact AI will have on the job market and cited this as an opportunity for Skills England to provide authoritative, insightful messaging.
2. Board members were supportive of the next steps and highlighted their desire to be involved in external communications.

9. Item 7. Reviewing Skills England’s strategic risks

9.1 Lead: Zoe Lewis, Skills England Audit and Risk lead board member

1. Board members considered the paper setting out Skills England’s strategic risks. Board members discussed how Skills England developed its strategic risk register and wanted to ensure they were aligned to its objectives and deliverables.

10. Item 8. Any other business (AOB)

1. The Chairs of the sub-groups confirmed they would share an update on each of the sub-group’s recent activity by correspondence.
2. There was no further AOB. The Chair asked board members to raise any items for discussion so these could be considered at future meetings.