High profile speakers to attend SkillsActive conference in Scotland

Will Pickering, SkillsActive - 11/04/2008

Nigel Crouch is a senior industrialist who has held a number of senior marketing positions with Cadbury Schweppes, both in the UK and internationally before becoming Managing Director of the Evo-Stik Adhesives and Sealants Business of Evode Group plc for almost nine years.

He currently runs his own investment business and spends part of his time working with the Management Leadership and Skills Unit at the Department for Trade and Industry (now Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform), where he is responsible for leadership issues and the Sunday Times "100 Best Companies to Work For" programme. He also drives the Inspirational Leadership Programme for the Skills for Business Network.

Employers report of lack of leadership and management skills, not just in the active leisure and learning sector but across the board in Scotland and the UK as a whole. Inspirational leadership is a key part of the skills, innovation and management mix needed for organisations to be a success.

Mary Allison, head of health topics at NHS Health Scotland, will also be addressing the conference and will be talking about distributed leadership. This is concerned with mobilising leadership at all levels in organisations and engaging the many rather than the few, not just relying on a top down approach. 

She will also be using examples from the world of health promotion such as the Physical Activity and Health Alliance, an online community website for practitioners engaged in physical activity and health across Scotland.

The conference is taking place on Thursday, 1 May 2008 at the Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, and will also consist of workshops on issues affecting a range of areas of the active leisure and learning sector. The agenda has been specifically designed to help organisations develop new ways for inspiring and leading their teams, and includes practical sessions that will be of interest to the various sub-sectors of the active leisure and learning workforce.

By attending this year’s event, which costs £95, delegates will receive complimentary membership of SkillsActive for the next 12 months. In return for commitment to the future of skills, SkillsActive rewards its members with essential industry information and policy guidance, support through industry expertise and savings for businesses with preferential rates on advertising, events and more.

Click here for full details of the event.