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Mr David Jones OBE stepped down as Chief Executive/Principal of Coleg Cambria at the end of 2019 after steering the institution to great acclaim. A champion of work-based learning, apprenticeships, fundraising and accessible education for people of all ages, he has made a vast contribution to shaping the careers of tens of thousands of youngsters and mature learners over more than three decades. 

Initially a chartered electronics engineer, as the Principal of Deeside College from 2004, he led its mergers from 2009 to 2013 with the Welsh College of Horticulture, Llysfasi College and Wrexham’s Yale College, to create Coleg Cambria. David has chaired several non-executive boards, currently including Qualifications Wales, and AMRI (Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Cymru). He is also a board member of the Defence Electronics Component Agency (DECA), the Wales Appeals Board of NSPCC Cymru and Welsh Government’s European Advisory Group. He is also a commissioner for the Independent Commission on the College of the Future, which reported in late 2020.

David was the winner of the TES UK FE Leader of the year in 2017 and was awarded an OBE in 2015 for his services to education. 

Mr Ger Looney is a former Principal of St John’s Central College Cork and Past President of NAPD (National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals), with more than 30 years’ experience across a range of leadership and representative roles in FET. 

Ger is a member of the Steering Group for the PLC Review, which produced the McIver Report in 2003, and has worked with QQI and ETBI on various projects and advisory groups. In 2015 undertook the role of Reporting Secretary to the QQI External Advisory Panel for the Feasibility Study on the Draft QA Guidelines for ETBs and represented the FE sector on that panel too.

He holds an honorary MA conferred by UCC for contribution to Adult Education in Cork. He was conferred with an M.Ed by UCC in 2018, completing a study on ‘An analysis of the effect of Government Policy on Standalone FE Colleges’ as part of that degree programme. 

Ger is currently working with University of Limerick as well as Hibernia College on their PME Teacher Training Programmes. ​

Over the years Dymph has expanded her audit activities to other VET colleges and has trained as lead auditor. Within the VET Quality network in the Netherlands, she was involved in a new approach to quality assurance. In this new approach an organisation formulates a dilemma concerning (improvement of) quality in their own organisation and a team of auditors helps the organisation to explore the issue through dialogue with all relevant partners. 

Apart from auditing she was also involved in developing the internal support system to help teams of teachers to work on quality improvement in a systematic way.

Since 2019 Michael has been Head of Operations and PMO at EMR Integrated Solutions. With a track record stretching back to the early 1980s, EMR Integrated Solutions has established a strong foothold as one of the leading providers of real-time communications, telemetry, SCADA and instrumentation solutions. With clients in Ireland, UK and Europe, they serve markets as diverse as utilities, media, retail, public safety agencies, local government, NGOs, industrial and educational campuses, with a proven capability to deliver large, complex, integrated solutions on time and within budget.

After completing a PLC Business Studies Secretarial Course, Claire then progressed to Letterkenny Institute of Technology and completed a QQI Level 6 Business Studies Office Information & Administration course which led her into employment in the Publishing / Web Design Industry for 14 years. After 15 years of being out of the classroom environment, Claire went on to complete a QQI Level 6 qualification in Training and Development. This course complimented Claire’s new role with Donegal ETB, ensuring learners had a quality experience in their respective courses. 

As a mother of three young girls, Claire has always worked full time since 3rd level, so going back to evening education was a huge accomplishment in addition to her home and work commitments. Claire is a believer in the saying “once education is obtained, it is easy carried” and for herself and the learners she works with, Claire uses this as a core value in helping herself and others achieve their dreams.

Noreen has been employed for the past 3 years with Specialisterne Ireland, a specialist recruitment consultancy that supports Autistic individuals and those with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, ADHD and similar challenges to gain and maintain employment. She brings her considerable experience in education and student support to the organisation. Noreen and her team engage with several third level institutions around Ireland to support students to develop confidence when interviewing for placements and interviews after graduation. Graduates employed through Specialisterne Ireland in their partner companies are supported to receive a disability friendly interviews as well as ongoing support throughout their employment.