Cogent appoints skills director for chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Cogent logo

Tuesday, 19, Jun 2007 12:00

Kieran Quill has been appointed as Cogent’s Skills Director for Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals.

Kieran is originally from Ireland and has a BSc in Chemistry and Mathematics and an MSc in Cluster Chemistry as well as a PhD from Dublin City University.

He started his career in academic research and in the early 90s joined Borax as an R&D Programme Manager. He was promoted to Business Manager Rio Tinto Borax in 1996 and two years later became Technical Director, responsible for R&D support for businesses worldwide.

Kieran is a highly experienced people manager, has managed large scale change programmes and has led on a variety of high-profile business projects. One of these was a project to radically improve the company’s performance management process, based on the Balanced Scorecard approach, to support the shift to a results-based company culture.

Commenting on his appointment Kieran said: “I am committed to developing and realising the full potential of people, in order that they can make a full contribution supporting corporate success.

“Skills and career development are central to people management, particularly in the Cogent industries where it is higher-level skills that will move employers up the value chain. High added-value products require more R&D, more innovation and an expert workforce.

“I look forward to working with businesses to better understand their skill needs and supporting them in developing appropriate solutions to the recruitment and skills challenges they face.”

Kieran has served on the Board of the European Industrial Minerals Association the recognised voice of the industry in Europe, and on the Planning and Programme Committee of the European Industrial Research Management Association, Europe’s premier association for industrial R&D practitioners.

The chemical industry including pharma has a turnover £46.3bn. The industry comprises a number of sub-sectors, which have a combined share of 11% of the manufacturing industries’ gross value added (GVA), 2% of the UK Gross Domestic Product, and exports of £31.8 billion, making it the leading manufacturing industry exporter. The main market for export is the EU, at 61%.

About Cogent

Cogent is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the chemicals and pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, nuclear, petroleum and polymer Industries. It is one of 25 SSCs which, together with the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA), form the Skills for Business Network (SfBN). Cogent has finalised its Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) following 18 months of research and consultation with employers across its footprint. This agreement represents a long-term relationship between employers and stakeholders to deliver relevant skills, training and development to employers in the Cogent industries. The resulting action plan is based on the assessment of current and future skills needs, as well as current training and education provision. Five key programmes for the sector, which cut across industry boundaries, have now been drawn up and endorsed by key stakeholders