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Scottish Qualifications Authority
08/06/2010
Keith Brown, Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning, today announced the appointment of Paul Thomson, Raymond O'Hare and Carole Wilkinson to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
Dr Paul Thomson has been Rector of Jordanhill School since 1997. In recent years he has chaired SQA's Scottish Baccalaureates Key Partners Group and the Advisory Group on Understanding Standards and he is currently a member of Curriculum Area Review Group in Science. He is also a member of the Education Committee of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Dr Thomson brings a wealth of experience in delivering secondary school qualifications and fully understands the implications of the new National Qualifications proposed under Curriculum for Excellence.
Raymond O'Hare's career began at the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1976 following which he worked in Government (the Inland Revenue) and in a number of UK, European and US-based companies in both Ireland and the UK (ICL, Nixdorf and Digital Equipment Corp). He was Director of Microsoft in Scotland for five and a half years until the end of 2009 and is the current Chairman of the Institute of Directors in Scotland. He is a Board member of Young Scot, a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of Glasgow University business school and a member of the Scottish Government's National Economic Forum and Skills Utilisation Leadership Group. Mr O'Hare possesses ability and understanding of developing and delivering a strategy for growth in a small to medium sized company and has international business experience.
Carole Wilkinson has, throughout her career as a senior manager in social services posts in the UK (including Director of Social Work in Falkirk), taken an active interest in education, training and workforce matters. She was the first Chief Executive of the Scottish Social Services Council and chaired the group to develop the first National Workforce Strategy for Social Services Workers in Scotland. She was a member of the 21st Century Review of Social Work and later chaired the group to oversee implementation of the workforce recommendations. She was President of the Association of Directors of Social Work in 2001. Carole brings to the Board an understanding of the HR issues faced by a large organisation and an ability to promote successful employee relations to ensure employee's interests are taken fully into account.
All three appointments will be for four years and will run from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2014. The posts are part-time and attract a remuneration of £4,600 for a time commitment of 23 days per year.
Paul Thomson is a member of the Advisory Council which provides stakeholder advice to the Board of the SQA. Advisory Council members are appointed by Ministers and receive no remuneration. Carole Wilkinson currently holds two other Ministerial appointments. She is the Chair of the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration and a member of NHS Education Scotland. She receives an annual remuneration for these posts of £20,122 and £8,008 per annum respectively. Raymond O'Hare holds no other Ministerial appointments.
The SQA is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body established under the Education (Scotland) Act 1996. It is responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and certification of qualifications other than degrees in Scotland. These Ministerial public appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice.
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity within the last 5 years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public. None of the appointees have declared any political activity.