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 Marc ...

(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 of ...

quango A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where N ...

). The agency was in turn replaced by the

Education and Skills Funding Agency The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is an executive agency of the government of the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Department for Education. The ESFA was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of the Education Funding Agency an ...

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 former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

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 Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (c 22) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It alters the law relating to education. The precursors of this Act were the white paper "Raising Expectations: Enabling the s ...

. The office was originally a corporation sole, and employees were appointed by the Chief Executive as

Crown servant The term "Crown servant" is used to denote a "person employed by the Crown". Although the term is not consistently defined, generally speaking the term encompasses all executive officials and their staffs, civil servants, police, judicial officia ...

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, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...

. 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 new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

s and adult education; 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 financ ...

. 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 ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

and in offices around England. It ran the

National Apprenticeship Service The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), part of the Education and Skills Funding Agency, is a government agency that coordinates apprenticeships in England, enabling young people to enter the skilled trades. History At the beginning of Febru ...

and the

National Careers Service The National Careers Service is the publicly funded careers service for adults and young people (aged 13 or over) in England. Launched in April 2012, it brings together elements of previous publicly funded careers services for adults and young pe ...

. 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 Higher education organisations based in the United Kingdom 2017 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Coventry

See also

References

External links