27 Nov 2006

New National Skills Academy for Financial Services appoints national director

The UK’s new National Skills Academy for Financial Services has appointed its first director.

Sylvia Perrins, currently Director of Business Development and Planning at Westminster Kingsway College of Further Education in London, takes up her post in January 2007.

The National Skills Academy for Financial Services received the government go-ahead at a launch led by Prime Minister Tony Blair on 31 October 2006. The bid, led by the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) and supported by a range of financial services employers, is one of the first of the UK’s new skills academies to be approved.

Sylvia will lead the Skills Academy as it launches in four regional centres, based in London, Leeds, Manchester and Norwich. “I am thrilled to be leading the National Skills Academy for Financial Services as it will provide a real opportunity to meet the skill shortages that the sector has identified,” she said. “For employers it is often a challenge to attract and retain a workforce with the right skills and attitude to contribute to future business success. This agenda is at the heart of the National Skills Academy and with employers’ support we will succeed.”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to achieve a step change in skills delivery for financial services, and to secure the levels of public funding that it really deserves,” says FSSC chief executive Teresa Sayers, who will sit on the national board of the Skills Academy. “Sylvia’s background in both education and in the commercial world as a financial consultant means that she is well-placed to work closely with employers in the development of this major initiative.”

Employers will be involved at every level of the Skills Academy’s governance and funding. Employers who have already expressed an interest in working with the National Skills Academy for Financial Services include:

• Merrill Lynch
• Nationwide Building Society
• Norwich Union
• Cattles plc
• Moneyfacts
• Targetfollow Ltd
• yfm Group

Sylvia Perrins will be available for interview on Wednesday 29 November. Photographs available.

Contact:
Sue Martin: PR Consultant, FSSC
T – 020 7216 7381
Email: sue.martin@fssc.org.uk

Notes to Editors

1. The National Skills Academy for Financial Services will launch in four regional centres, based in London, Leeds, Manchester and Norwich. More centres are planned from 2007, and the Academy aims to have nearly 15,000 learners by 2009. A new website with curriculum details will go live early in 2007. For more about the initiative see: www.fssc.org.uk/skillsacademy or email: skillsacademy@fssc.org.uk.

1. The Financial Services Skills Council is an independent, employer-led organisation, established in 2004 to provide strategic leadership for education, training and skills development for the financial services industry across the UK. It aims to improve productivity and business performance by ensuring that the industry is equipped with the range and level of skills that it needs. The financial services sector is central to the UK economy, generating over 5% of UK GDP and with a turnover of more than £46bn a year. It employs more than a million people in more than 35,000 companies, and affects every single person in the UK. The FSSC sets performance standards for the entire sector, including banking, building societies, insurance companies and brokers, independent financial advisers, investment administration and pensions.