Michael Smith Email & Phone Number

Lead and direct Awarding Organisation business unit, acting as Responsible Officer for UK regulators, managing all aspects of corporate governance, budgets and compliance with external regulators. Determining strategy, developing and delivering specific business plan, successfully identifying business development and income generation opportunities.

Assist organisations in resolving skills issues and working across all industry sectors. Short term contracts included Trailblazer Apprenticeship development and development of pan-European skills, competences and occupational profiles for public administration occupations and professions for the EU.

Warwickshire

Established new department and team responsible for working with industry and training providers to develop learning and professional development solutions to meet business needs. Research, development and management of Apprenticeship offer, qualifications, training programmes and on-line skills solutions, associated support materials and recording systems.

Stoneleigh, Warwickshire

Responsible for developing and implementing strategic skills development projects across the environmental and land-based sector, researching workforce development requirements and evaluation of interventions designed to address sector skills and business needs, authoring reports for publication. Research, development and delivery of corporate strategies.

Research/development of the sector’s ‘competence framework’, funded by Defra, to recognise and record skills, experience, qualifications and professional development. Introduced on line ‘skills passports’ in sector businesses. Led first sector-wide review/rationalisation of National Occupational Standards, qualifications, apprenticeships and lifelong.

Lead the first sector-wide review and rationalisation of National Occupational Standards for environemtnal, animal health and primary production industries, developing the sector's first assessment strategies for UK wide vocational and professional qualifications. Development of sector-wide careers information portal recieving over 1500 hits per month.

Development of vocational education and training (VET) systems for key clients including overseas ministries of education in Caribbean, Middle East and SE Asia and multinationals including SKB. Established and managed processes for commissioning, developing, and evaluation of new vocational and professional qualifications for the international market, e.g..

Principal role in establishing suite of foreign language for business qualifications, recruiting and training examiners. Design and delivery of training events and workshops for assessment writers, examiners and teachers. Research and development of entry level ‘vocational tasters’ in areas including food technology, travel and tourism, agriculture.

Assist in the management of a range of RSA 'own brand' qualifications; production of scheme documentation; co-ordination of the production of assessment materials; co-ordination of examining personnel; representation at conferences and exhibitions; delivery of workshops and customer support.

Dealing with examination/certification enquiries verbally and in writing; allocating examiners to approved RSA centres; centre liaison; processing certification enquiries to tight deadlines.

Responsible for international client liaison; customer service; translation work; research and compilation of reports; liaison between subsidiary companies in the UK and Belgium; special projects e.g. BS 5750; junior management role in Sales and Accounts departments.

Tourist information and promotions; translation and interpreting; development of day and weekend break itineraries for visiting tourists; representative at tourist trade fairs; compilation, co-ordination and distribution of weekly events calendar.