Four DIT non-executive board members with extensive experience in investment, business and international affairs, were announced today (1 December) by International Trade Secretary Liz Truss.

The new members have been appointed for at least 3 years and will provide independent advice, support and scrutiny on the department’s work, to support the Government’s ambitious trade policy agenda.

They will help the department execute its key priorities including striking free trade agreements in markets around the world, operating our own trading system after the transition period, boosting exports and investment across the UK, and championing free trade and shaping global trading rules.

The new board members are:

• Andrew Hood, Founding partner at Oxford Research & Analysis, announced as lead non-executive board member
• Dominic Johnson, Founding Partner and Chief Executive at Somerset Capital Management, announced as chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee
• Dr Dambisa Moyo, Economist and Author, will become a new non-executive board member
• Douglas Carswell, former Member of Parliament for Clacton, will become a new non-executive board member

Founding partner at Oxford Research & Analysis, Andrew Hood, will take on the role of Lead non-executive board member, after facing strong competition from a high number of candidates.

He will be joined by Dominic Johnson, who will replace Julie Currie as Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, and by Dr Dambisa Moyo and Douglas Carswell, who will sit on the DIT Department Board.

Sir Stephen O’Brien, and Noel Harwerth will continue in their roles as Non-Executive Board Members.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said:

These appointments bring vast experience and expertise to the department at a critical time for the UK as a trading nation.

They will help execute our strategic priorities, in particular driving forward our trade deal negotiations programme, our export and investment campaigns, and our work on reforming and reshaping global trade rules.

All of them are high quality appointments who believe fiercely in rules-based free trade. They will play a big role in re-establishing the UK as a major force in global trade, and will help take our trade agenda to the next level in 2021 and beyond.

The non-executive board members were appointed following an open and fair selection process. There are now six non-executive board members.

Appointee biographies

Andrew Hood – Lead NEBM

• Andrew Hood is a founding partner at Oxford Research & Analysis with 20 years’ experience in the private sector working in or on behalf of companies involved with banking, insurance, asset management, broadcasting, AI, social media and cement. Andrew is a former managing partner of Brunswick Group, which is a leading international strategic advisory firm. He has a background in foreign affairs and defence and has worked in North America, the Middle East and Asia.

Dominic Johnson – NEBM and ARAC Chair

• Dominic is Founding Partner and Chief Executive of Somerset Capital Management a $7bn Global Emerging markets specialist investment company. Prior to starting Somerset Capital in 2007, he helped to build Lloyd George Management from $1.5bn to $16bn under management between 2001 and 2007. He has spent the last 25 years in entrepreneurial, international finance, starting his career at Robert Fleming in 1995, before moving to Jardine Fleming, Hong Kong, in 1998, setting up various dotcom business in the early 2000s and ultimately moving into asset management in 2001. He was vice-chairman of the Conservative Party between 2016 and 2019.

Dr Dambisa Moyo

• Dr. Dambisa Moyo is an acclaimed global economist and author.
• Dr Moyo has focused on analysing the macro economy and international affairs to help drive investment decisions, capital allocation and mitigate risk. Her work examines the interplay of international business and the global economy, whilst highlighting the key opportunities for investment; capitalizing on her ability to translate trends in markets, technology, policy, regulatory matters and economics into their likely impact on national economies and business.
• Dr Moyo serves on the boards of the 3M Company, Chevron and Conde Nast. In addition, she serves on the Investment Committee of Oxford University’s endowment. She was named by TIME Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” and is the author of four bestselling books.

Douglas Carswell

• Douglas Carswell served as Member of Parliament for Clacton from 2005 to 2017, during which time he was a member of the Public Accounts Committee.
• He is a visiting fellow, at the John Locke Institute, and Director of The Good Governance Project, which undertakes research into the process of public administration, and publishes proposals for meaningful reform. He is on the steering group of the Commission for Smart Government, an independent initiative to consider how to make public administrative more effective.
• He was formerly a founding director of Vote Leave, and prior to politics worked for one of the world’s leading investment management companies.

Digital

Version 1

IT professional services company Version 1 deliver a range of digital and transformation services to both UK public and private sectors.

With a commitment to support 16-24 year olds as part of their own ‘Community First’ strategy, Version 1 have also included a range of placement and careers development activities public sector contracts. As part of their IT contract with Harrow Council, Version 1 have supported a student from Harrow and Uxbridge College, studying the digital production, design, and development T Level, by hosting an industry placement.

During his 4-week on-site placement, the T Level student worked on a data centre migration project moving workloads from the council’s on-premises Data Centre into Microsoft Azure, as well as developing a governance app for the project using Microsoft Power Apps.

Jude McVitty, Social Value Manager, Version 1 said:

Version 1 is passionate about our social commitment to the employability of young people into our industry. We are excited to be able to work with the local college and the Local Authority in partnership to facilitate this – and other future – T Level industry placements that we hope will lead to a successful career in the digital sector. The industry placement supported a local employer; and the student gained experience in the workplace, whilst developing their skills and knowledge of IT.

As we work with a range of public and private sector organisations, we will realise more opportunities to support learners on a range of courses to gain the work experience they need. This benefits the students, our customers, our organisation and our industry; a perfect platform for success.

Education and Childcare

Bramble Infant School and Nursey host T Level students on industry placement

Bramble Infant School and Nursery in Portsmouth provides for 343 children, aged from 6 months to 7 years old. With the school values of Succeed, Think, Aspire & Respect, they are as committed to their staff, as they are to their pupils.

Determined to support the future generation of nursery practitioners, teachers and teaching assistants, the school hosted T Level industry placements last year for two students from Havant & South Downs College. Both education and childcare T Level students are returning to the setting in September, with one student continuing to gain further industry experience in the nursery, whilst the other is taking time to work with older children in school.

Whilst on industry placement students shadow a staff member, and pick up the routine to understand what nursery would consider a typical day. Students learn and understand the type of activities nursery provides for children and why they do so and are encouraged to create their own activities for children. This brings many benefits to the school, as they learn from students themselves and the skills they bring with them.

Child development is an important element for students to understand and at Bramble Infant School and Nursey and T Level students have the opportunity to gain further experience of child development, teaching and learning by joining the staff team on completion of their course.

Sharon Widnell Deputy Nursery manager, Bramble Infant School and Nursery said:

Generally, staff model to our students what constitutes a good work ethic. Students need time and support to build upon their skills. The block week placement in our setting allows students to experience the working world, with a safety net and help them to understand the expectations of employers.

Like the children we care for, students can take small steps to achieve their goals. Every good practitioner started as a student and we understand the importance of our professional development.

T Levels are a fantastic way to ensure students get the right mix of classroom based knowledge and a real taste of the workplace. We will assist any student who wants to achieve a career in childcare.

Construction

VINCI Construction UK supporting technical education

VINCI Construction UK is part of the VINCI Group – a world leader in concessions, construction and energy.

VINCI Construction UK has 4 main divisions, including Building Division (handling the construction, conversion or refurbishment of developments), Taylor Woodrow (civil engineering), VINCI Facilities (providing bespoke solutions within the built environment) and VINCI Technology Centre UK (combining laboratory testing with expertise in sustainability) VINCI Construction UK has around 3600 employees, and as an employer, they support technical education programmes, including T Level industry placements and apprenticeships.

VINCI Construction UK supports T Levels with students completing a period of work experience – enabling students to complete their studies whilst gaining experience of life in the construction industry. Offering industry placements has brought many benefits to the business. In the main, T Levels are supporting the VINCI Construction UK talent pipeline. Industry placements have the opportunity to progress onto apprenticeship programmes, and the employer is benefitting from being able to see individuals in the work environment before they commit to offering an apprenticeship to students.

The company’s first two T Level students are currently undertaking placements in the North East, on site on a York based project. These students are studying T-Level in Construction at York College and are undertaking various engineering tasks including setting out, surveying, quality control, work planning and general contributions to the site such as safety management.

York college working with VINCI

Michelle Curzon, Academy Manager, VINCI Construction UK Ltd said:

Technical education opportunities within VINCI Construction UK include our business hosting T Level industry placements and taking on apprentices.

“Both options provide our business with the skills we need, whilst enabling T Level students and apprentices to progress in their careers. T Levels are one route to an apprenticeship within our business, and many apprentices remain with us on completion of their programme; going on to carve successful careers in construction.

The introduction of incentive payments for employers for both T Levels and apprenticeships means we can continue to support students on both programmes – with incentive payments enabling our business to offer the best training and support possible.

A traineeship is a skills development programme that includes a work placement. The full programme can last from 6 weeks up to 1 year, though most traineeships last for less than 6 months.

Sood. Marketing is a full 360° digital marketing agency, specialising in website design, Social media management and branding. With a workforce of 7, they work closely with their local Chamber of Commerce, who deliver a range of skills development services.

Sood has seen great success with a previous trainee they had worked with on the traineeship program. Working on a number of internal projects initially, the trainee was able to demonstrate their natural skills and talents, with work steadily progressing in level of responsibility and technical skill. Keen to retain this talent, Paalan Sood, Sood’s managing director progressed the trainee to a Level 3 Digital marketing apprenticeship – their third apprentice in the business.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Sood. are continuing to identify opportunities for growth and have a new trainee. This time, the business is eligible to make use of the government incentive for hiring an apprentice, and will use the funding to contribute towards IT procurement and additional digital licenses. The ability to cover some of the recruitment and set up costs has made the decision to commit to employing a new apprentice much easier.

Paalan Sood, Managing Director at Sood. Marketing said:

At Sood, we have found the traineeship model is a great opportunity to identify the strengths and best organisational fit of individuals. Staff have joined the business with a focus on website design, and through being moved to a variety of projects, identified that their skills really spark in areas such as SEO or content production.

Having gone down the traditional university route myself, I have seen first-hand how much benefit is drawn from experiential learning gained from working, with our trainee and now managing his own clients – with remarkable progression in his skills and confidence. Setting up my business and meeting the needs of my customers has been the biggest but most rewarding learning curve and apprentices go through a similar journey.