CHRIS Humphries has been appointed the new director-
general of City amp; Guilds, the UK’s leading provider of vocational qualifications.
Mr Humphries, aged 52, has been director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce since July 1998. From 1994-1998, he was chief executive of the Training and Enterprise Council’s national council. He was also chair of the government’s National Skills Task Force.
Mr Humphries starts his new job in April on a six-figure salary.
“I am going back into skills, which is where my heart is,” said Mr Humphries.
“The whole focus now is turning towards upskilling the futur workforce and being able to reach adults. There must be a substantial growth in adults participating in learning,” he said.
He also wants to look at “portable corporate qualifications” where all a company’s staff are trained to high standards.
He said Camp;G already had a big presence in the global marketplace, but it needed to be more focused. It could give a “rapid leg-up” in the developing world to help countries obtain an internationally recognised qualification.
“For the past seven years I have been running network-lobbying organisations but I look forward to running a real business,” he said.
