Education and business chiefs in the south west of England will join a new commission being formed to drive social mobility for youngsters in the region.
The South-West Social Mobility Commission will be chaired by Sir Michael Barber, a north Devon resident himself who has advised awarding giant Pearson and led the prime minister’s delivery unit from 2001-2005. He is currently chancellor for the University of Exeter and was recently commissioned by the chancellor in the autumn statement to advise the government on skills reform plans.
Also on the commission are the university’s vice chancellor Lisa Roberts, PETROC College chief executive and principal Sean Mackney, Babcock International’s Brendan Staniforth, as well as school, council and business organisation chiefs.
It follows a report published in April on social mobility in the south west by the University of Exeter’s professor of social mobility Lee Elliot Major and Dr Anne-Marie Sim from the university’s centre for social mobility.
