Industry Leadership
As an employer-led organisation, Proskills works very closely with the Wood Industry (which includes manufacturing industries, and the wholesale of wood and other building products). This is achieved via a number of routes including the Wood Industry Board and the Qualifications Reform Group for the industry.
The Wood Industry Board helps set the strategic direction for Proskills. Made up of employers in the main and supported by representatives from employer bodies, trade unions as well as training providers, it is their task is to ensure that the objectives and solutions developed by Proskills the Sector Skills Council and the National Skills Academy for Materials, Production & Supply, the new directional delivery arm of Proskills, remain aligned to the needs of this industry.
The Qualifications Reform Group is tasked with the development and review of new and existing standards and qualifications to meet the increasing demands of the industry.
Both groups play a key role in ensuring the right provision is in place to support investment in skills.
Without the support of employers and other stakeholders these groups cannot fulfil their remit. It is therefore critical to their success that more people from this industry get involved. To date we have a membership of over 20 employers on the Board that come from a range of different sized businesses. In real terms, they only represent a small fraction of the industry that comprises around 20,000 businesses employing around 186,000 individuals. To ensure a more complete coverage and ever more influential input, we need more employers to come forward and work with us.
Proskills Industry Lead:
To coordinate employer involvement and strategic engagement, each Industry has its own Industry Lead within Proskills. For the Wood industry this is Helen Hewitt. If you would like to get involved in shaping the future of your industry, contact Helen Hewitt on 07827 158579 or at helen.hewitt@mps-academy.co.uk
Current Board Membership includes:
| Names | Organisations |
| Albone, Susan | Finnforest UK Ltd |
| Bastow, Bob | SCA |
| Bowtell, Tom | Proskills UK |
| Burke, Pat | Arnold Laver Group Ltd |
| Campbell, Dave | British Woodworking Federation |
| De Col, Gabriele | SCM |
| Dennehy, Eve | The Building Centre |
| Fryer, Keith | T Brewer & Co |
| Glaister, Claire | Rural Development Initiatives |
| Hewitt, Helen | Proskills UK Group |
| Isenman, Geoff | Wood Machinery Suppliers Association (WMSA) |
| James, Martin | Didac Ltd |
| Kelly, Peter (Chair) | Howarth Timber Group |
| Kelly, Pauline (Vice Chair) | EA Higginson & Co Ltd |
| Kerr, Alistair | Wood Panels Industry Federation |
| King, Duncan | Wood Technology Society (IOM3) |
| Laird, Andrew | Haldane Fisher Ltd |
| McBlane, Rowena | BSW Timber |
| Pitman, Andrew | Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) |
| Reiss, Gesa | English Forest Industry Parternship (EFIP) |
| Royle, Nina | Builder Merchants Federation (BMF) |
| Sulman, David | UK Forest Products Association (UKFPA) |
| Young, Stephen | The Wood Protection Association |
| White, John | Timber Trade Federation (TTF) |
Current Focus of the Board:
Section under construction