CIPD welcomes the launch of the Inspiring Governors Alliance as an important step towards bridging the gap between education and business
15 May 2014 12:48 PM
A new alliance, comprising of
organisations including the Department of Education, the Department for
Business, Innovation and Skills, the National Governors’ Association,
CBI, FSB and the CIPD, has been launched today by Education Secretary, Michael
Gove. The Inspiring Governors Alliance aims to widen the pool
of business professionals making themselves available as governors, as well
increase awareness amongst employers about the benefits to be gained by
supporting their staff to be school governors.
The alliance has been launched
alongside a new report from the University of Bath and National
Governors’ Association, which revealed that some schools were struggling
to attract governors with the right skills and recommended that more needed to
be done to attract high calibre candidates.
Supporting today’s
announcement, Susannah Clements, Deputy Chief Executive of the
CIPD, said: “Increasing the number of high calibre
professionals putting themselves forward to become school governors is a key
step towards bridging the gap between education and work. By influencing the
governance of schools, businesses can forge important links with the world of
education, ensuring that the future workforce is equipped with the skills
needed for success.
“For an HR professional,
becoming a school governor gives your organisation the additional advantage of
access to a wide pool of talent, which can potentially ease future recruitment
challenges. As an employer, any member of staff who becomes a governor will
also benefit from the skills gained by taking on a strategic leadership role,
which can be brought back to your organisation.”
The CIPD also encourages HR
professionals to engage with schools via Inspiring the Future, a free initiative that allows
volunteers to sign up to deliver one-off careers insight talks or CV and
interview advice sessions. This forms part of the CIPD Learning to Work programme, which aims to
increase the number of employers engaging with young people.