AoC Chair to leave at the end of her term

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has announced that Carole Stott MBE, Chair of the Board of AoC and the Charitable Trust, which oversees the Beacon Awards and Gold Awards, will leave the organisation at the end of her term in December 2018. Carole is also Chair of WorldSkills UK, which governs skills competitions across the UK to promote the highest standards in technical skills and offers experiential careers support, including the annual national Skills Show at the NEC in Birmingham. Her involvement in the college world will continue with her role as chair of Bath College. Professionally she is a qualified teacher and has had a long career in adult and further education, including CEO of a national qualification awarding body. She was awarded the MBE in 2012 for services to adult education. Speaking about Carole’s departure, David Hughes, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “We’re very sad to see Carole leave after a long commitment to AoC. She is a fantastic leader who has been a great advocate for the further education sector. I’ve enjoyed working with her since I joined AoC and her support and guidance has been invaluable in helping to keep AoC on track and in touch with members. Her work across various fields within the organisation has yielded much success and massive credit has to go to her for that – she’ll be a big loss but I wish her well for the future.” Carole said: “Being chair of the association and working alongside the passionate and committed staff across our membership is a privilege and pleasure, as well as a big responsibility. Our colleges play such an important role in their communities and in our success and wellbeing as a nation. They are forces for good that develop talent, transform lives and support individual and collective prosperity and success. They should be supported and cherished and that is why the role of AoC is such an important one.” The search for the next AoC Chair will begin shortly, with an open recruitment campaign being managed by AoC Create on behalf of the Board. The Association of Colleges (AoC) is a not-for-profit membership organisation which represents and promotes the interests of colleges. AoC’s membership includes 273 further education, sixth form, tertiary and specialist colleges across the UK.