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Myerscough Chief Exec & Principal joins Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Board

Published
Monday 20 Jun 2022

The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has announced Alison Robinson, as its latest Board Director.

Alison Desk

Alison brings extensive experience to the Board and already plays an active part in the LEP’s strategic activities as the education representative in the Food and Agriculture Sector Group and on the Skills and Employment Advisory Panel, where she recently took on the role of Chair.

Following an undergraduate degree at Lancaster University and postgraduate courses at both Lancaster University and the University of Central Lancashire, Alison began her teaching career in 1991. She has taught with educational providers across Lancashire including a school, a sixth form, a university and six further education colleges before moving into a range of management roles at Runshaw College and then Myerscough College. She also has experience working as a part time Ofsted inspector.

In April 2018 Alison became the Chief Executive and Principal at Myerscough College after spending four and a half years as the Vice Principal and Deputy Chief Executive.

In addition to her positions with the LEP, Alison holds a number of non-Executive roles including Vice Chair of The Lancashire Colleges, and Director of Landex (Land Based Colleges Aspiring to Excellence) and Land Based Assessment Limited. She also sits on several additional advisory panels, policy groups and forums linked to education funding, quality, teaching and learning and rural sector needs.  

She said: “I’ve lived and worked in Lancashire my entire life, growing up in rural, city and coastal parts of the county and I remain fiercely loyal to the region which is why I’m excited to join the LEP Board. I’m a teacher at heart and extremely passionate about the role that education plays in meeting employer needs and skills gaps. Addressing our local, regional, national, and international skills and employment challenges has never been more important than now, in the wake of Brexit and the pandemic.

“The LEP plays a key role in bringing together the private, education and public sectors to drive economic growth and job creation. I’ll be focusing on how the LEP can help to tackle issues such as cyber and digital resilience, youth unemployment, reskilling and upskilling our adult workforce, improving health and wellbeing, levelling up, social mobility, productivity and sustainable development in our region.”

Equality, diversity and inclusion are also core to Alison’s values. She started Myerscough on its journey to being a recognised Leader in Diversity (accredited by the National Centre for Diversity) on her appointment as Vice Principal in 2014 and in 2021 the College was recognised as the sixth most inclusive workplace in the UK.

Commenting on the LEP’s latest appointment, Debbie Francis OBE, Chair of the LEP, said: “On behalf of the LEP Board, I’d like to welcome Alison to the role of Board Director. Through her work as part of the Skills and Employment Advisory Panel and the Food and Agriculture Sector Group, she has already made significant impact. Her commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion together with her belief in the power of education and training to transform lives and support economic regeneration, make Alison a fantastic addition to our Board of Directors, and I look forward to working together to secure further growth for Lancashire.”

The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is a strategic collaboration between business, universities and local councils which plays a crucial role in coordinating the county’s economic priorities, supports growth and drives high quality local job creation.

It is currently led by a Board of 16 volunteer directors who each contribute their sector-specific expertise to providing a strategic direction for the Lancashire economy. The majority of the Board are from the private sector, representing major employers and small and medium enterprises, while the public sector is represented by experts from higher education and political leaders from local authorities.

The LEP also has established sector groups, focused on meeting the extensive opportunities for identified key areas of growth, and its Innovation Board brings the region’s private and public sector together to drive innovation across the county.