The boss of the schools funding agency is set to add adult education to his list of responsibilities with appointment to the post of Skills Funding Agency chief executive.
Peter Lauener takes up the post — while continuing as chief executive of the Education Funding Agency (EFA) — from Monday, November 3.
A government statement said Mr Lauener would have separate accountability for each agency’s budget — and stressed that the EFA and SFA would not be merged.
He said: “I am delighted to take on this role and am looking forward to the challenge of making a difference in the skills sector.
“I have a long-standing interest and commitment to apprenticeships and skills and I am keen to be involved in the next stage of reform.”
Skills Minister Nick Boles said: “I am pleased to welcome Peter to his new post. He brings a wealth of experience in skills and in working with employers.
“In his new role leading both SFA and EFA he will help to join up our programme of reform across the education and skills sector.”
Mr Lauener has been chief executive of the EFA since it was formed in April 2012, having also been chief executive of predecessor organisation the Young People’s Learning Agency (YPLA).
He was the subject of a profile interview in Schools Week sister newspaper FE Week in November 2011, when he said of the YPLA job: “I’d applied for other things which I’d missed out on, but when this one came along I thought ‘well, this is the one I really ought to go for and so I went for the interview and was lucky enough to get the job.”
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