The Skills Funding Agency was one of two successor organisations that emerged from the closure in 2010 of the

Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Ma ...

(England's largest

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process o ...

or quango). The agency was in turn replaced by the

Education and Skills Funding Agency Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

in 2017. The restructuring of the English skills system was announced by Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

shortly after he took office in 2007. The office of the chief executive of Skills Funding was established in law by the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009. The office was originally a corporation sole, and employees were appointed by the chief executive as

Crown servant In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries such as Canada, a crown servant is a "person employed by the Crown". Although the term is not consistently defined, generally all executive officials and their staffs, civil servants, police ...

s, collectively referred to as the Skills Funding Agency (SFA). The chief executive was appointed by the

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills The secretary of state for business and trade (business secretary), is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central go ...

. Further legislation was passed in 2012, with the agency becoming an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The agency funded skills training for further education (FE) in England. Its scope included

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

s and

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

; it also implemented initiatives funded by the

European Social Fund The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs), which are dedicated to improving social cohesion and economic well-being across the regions of the Union. The funds are redistributive financi ...

. The agency supported over 1,000 colleges, private training organisations, and employers with more than £4 billion of funding each year. The SFA's mission was to ensure that people and businesses could access the skills training they needed to succeed in playing their part in society and in growing England’s economy. This was done in the context of policy set by government and informed by the needs of businesses, communities and regions, and sector and industry bodies. The SFA employed around 925 staff at its head office in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

and in offices around England. It ran the National Apprenticeship Service and the National Careers Service. In January 2012, Chief Executive Geoff Russell announced his resignation, and on 30 May 2012, it was announced by Skills Minister, John Hayes that Kim Thorneywork had been appointed as interim chief executive. In November 2014, Peter Lauener was appointed as chief executive. Following machinery of Government changes, the Skills Funding Agency became an executive agency of the Department for Education in 2016. The Skills Funding Agency was abolished on 31 March 2017. Its former functions, together with those of the former Education Funding Agency, were transferred to the

, created on 1 April 2017.

References

External links

Skills Funding Agency
{{Authority control 2010 establishments in the United Kingdom Defunct executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Department for Education Education in England Government agencies established in 2010 Government agencies disestablished in 2017 Higher education organisations based in the United Kingdom 2017 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Coventry

See also

References

External links