Tom Bewick appointed new Chief Executive of FAB (Federation of Awarding Bodies)

The Board of the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) is delighted to announce Tom Bewick as its new chief executive.

Commenting on the appointment, the chair of FAB, Paul Eeles said: “Following a robust and comprehensive recruitment process, the board decided on a candidate that brought the strongest possible experience in lobbying and policy influencing of the skills and qualifications agenda.

Tom Bewick has an exemplary track record of building solid representative industry organisations and working with government. He has influenced skills policy spanning a twenty-five-year career both in the United Kingdom and internationally, most recently in the United States. I’m really looking forward to working with Tom over the coming months as we strive to put the value of our qualifications and assessment organisations at the heart of the UK’s rapidly evolving technical education, skills and apprenticeship systems.

The Board would like to thank John McNamara for his leadership of FAB through this interim period”.

Tom Bewick, in-coming chief executive of FAB, said: “I’m delighted to be appointed to this role. Throughout my career I have been passionate about leading and representing organisations committed to growing a highly-skilled and qualified workforce. The fact is that strong qualifications, assessment and awarding organisations are the engine room of a twenty-first century economy.

“Without good qualifications, people can’t get the rewards they deserve and our society will not succeed.

“I will be unrelenting in putting forward the positive case, representing FAB members’ interests, and explaining why the public should listen to what is a fantastically comprehensive and diverse industry. I’m proud to represent a sector that provides so many individuals, employers and communities with the means to succeed up and down the land. I can’t wait to get started.”

So what does the sector think about Tom’s appointment?

Mark Dawe, Chief Executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) comments:

‘It’s very good that Tom with his extensive experience in the sector will be taking over when the apprenticeship reforms are posing major challenges for the awarding bodies.  With AELP’s own very active and effective End Point Assessment Organisation members group, we are sure that there will be lots of common issues to work on.”

An AoC spokesperson said: “It’s good to see that there is a distinct focus on skills. We congratulate Tom Bewick on his new post and look forward to working with him in his new role.”