Who's Who

Chair
John Cochrane was appointed Industral chair of Engineering Training Council on 29 November 2009.
Prior to this he was appointed in October 2005 as first Industrial Chair of the N I Spoke of the Automotive Academy, Later to become The National Skills Academy for Manufacturing (NSA-M) in N I, part of SEMTA, the Sector Skills Council for Engineering And Manufacturing Technologies.
He has been a Director of ETC since November 2004.

He was appointed Human Resources Manager of Ryobi Aluminium Casing (UK) Ltd in March 1991.  Prior to this John held similar positions within the automotive components sector in NI.
 

Chief Executive
Following a long career in the engineering industry, Bill Brown was  appointed Chairman of the Council in 1997. He is also on the board of the Engineering Employers Federation and the Northern Ireland Skills Task Force.  Bill took over as Chief Executive of ETC in 2008.
 

Business Support and Development
David Hatton was the first Chief Executive of the Council and has now moved to a role centering on Business Support and Development for both the Employer Demand  and Training Supply sides for all the sectors in our engineering footprint. The main functions of this role will include education and skills initiatives in up-skilling and re-skilling the current workforce, promoting the sector and skills competitions.  David also represents the interests in NI of SEMTA the Sector Skills Council for Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies.

 

Senior Manager - Operations
Gillian Winters started her engineering career as an apprentice, studying Electrical/Electronic Engineering. She then went onto spend in excess of fifteen years within the Engineering and Manufacturing industries as Process/Manufacturing and Quality Engineer.

Gillian has been with the Council since Jan 2005 and is now Senior Manager, Workforce Development Programmes within ETC, responsible for the 'strategic development, planning and leadership of the main programmes within ETC (ETCAL, ETS & NSA-M) providing leadership for attainment of our business goals'.

  

Awarding Body Team
Robert Gallagher manages ETC Awards Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary Awarding Body of the Council. Robert is responsible for all Awarding Body and Approved Centre procedures and ensuring compliance with QCA regulatory body requirements. Robert also is responsible for accreditation of new awards. He joined the organisation in 1998 and is based in our North West office at ETC Office, North West Institute, Maydown Campus, Carrakeel Drive, Londonderry, BT47 1UQ. TEl: 71861115  


 Apprenticeship Team
Jim McIlveen manages the promotion and recruitment  of the ApprenticeshipNI  Programme and is involved in  promoting engineering careers in general to both employers and young people. Jim has been with the Council since its formation.

Awarding Body Team
Malcolm Reid works closely with Robert and his duties mainly involve External Verification to ensure compliance with Awarding Body and Approved Centre requirements for a full range of NVQ qualifications and Key Skills, Malcolm joined ETC Awards in 2001.  

 

Finance/ Office Manager
Sylvia Law co-ordinates the administration team and is responsible for all financial requirements of the Council and its 2 subsidiary companies. Sylvia has been with the Council since 1995.  

 

Administration Team
Charles McCullough provides comprehensive administration support to the Council and its 2 subsidiary companies. Charles joined the Council in 2005.  
  

Awarding Body Team
Joe Bell works closely with Robert and Malcolm and his duties mainly involve External Verification to ensure compliance with Awarding Body and Approved Centre requirements for a full range of NVQ qualifications and Key Skills. Joe joined ETC Awards in 2006.

NSA-M
Claire Balmer joined ETC at the beginning of 2010 and represents the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing in NI.  Claire is also involved in co-ordinating engineering skills competitions in NI and works closely with the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) and FE.  Claire also provides strategic programme support to the organisation. 
 
 

Apprenticeship Team
David Cree, Training Adviser,  works alongside Jim and Gillian on the Apprenticeship programme.  David  is responsible for monitoring the progress of  apprentices engaged on the Programme and giving support to both apprentices and their employers.. David joined the Council in 2008.


Administration Team
Bill Kennedy works alongside Charles and Sylvia assisting in the administration provision for the three companies.  Bill joined the Council in 2004.


 Projects Adviser/Essential Skills Co-ordinator

Ryan Connor is Essential Skills Co-Ordinator and projects adviser for ETS and has responsibility for managing and delivering the essential skills provision to meet the requirements of the apprenticeship framework.  In addition he supports a number of projects on an ongoing basis.

 
Apprenticeship Team
Annie Millar, Training Adviser/Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) has been in involved in the promotion and recruitment of education and apprenticeship training programmes since 1992.