GovWire

Overview

The further education (FE) governor recruitment service will help college corporations and designated institutions to strengthen the skills and diversity mix of their boards by identifying well-qualified candidates to fill key governor roles.

The service is delivered by Peridot Partners Ltd.

Who can use this service

The service is available to:

• FE corporations
• sixth-form college corporations
• designated institutions

We will prioritise cases and roles where a quality appointment is considered key to strengthening governance.

Criteria for using the service

To meet the criteria for using the service, youll need to have at least one of the following:

• a difficulty in filling the role of chair, deputy chair or committee chair
• a significant skills gap on your governing board
• a significant need to increase diversity on your governing board
• a strong recommendation from a recent external review to recruit to a key governor role

Prioritising cases for referral

We will prioritise your nomination for referral to the service if your:

• college is in serious difficulty, for example, in intervention
• college or governing board already receives support from our FE commissioner team, Department for Education (DfE) territorial teams, national leaders of further education (NLFEs) or national leaders of governance (NLGs)
• circumstances or location make it difficult to recruit the governors you need

What the service provides

The service will provide a bespoke end-to-end service for governing boards including:

• helping with the person specification
• undertaking a proactive search for candidates
• shortlisting the best candidates for interview
• supporting boards through the appointment and induction process

How to access the service

You will need a referral from DfE to access the service. There are 2 ways to get a nomination for referral:

• we will nominate college corporations and designated institutions where we identify a need
• you can nominate your own college by emailing FE.Governor-Recruitment@education.gov.uk

How we will make a nomination

Nominations for referral may be made by:

• the FE commissioner team
• DfE territorial teams
• NLG
• NLFE

We will always:

• explain why we are recommending you use the service
• explain which vacancy is under consideration
• explain how the process will work
• get the consent of the board before proceeding
• include contact details for the chair and the governance professional in the nomination

How you can nominate your college

If you meet our criteria for using the service, you can nominate your college by emailing FE.Governor-Recruitment@education.gov.uk.

You will need to explain:

• why you need to use this service
• how your vacancy meets the criteria
• why that vacancy is key to the boards success

Before nominating your organisation, you must have the consent of your governing board. The nomination email should include contact details for the board chair and governance professional.

Next steps

1. We will assess all nominations against our criteria for using the service.

2. We will notify boards and nominators of the outcome. If your case has been approved for referral, we will check that you wish to proceed.

3. When Peridot Partners receive your referral from us, they will contact you directly to explain how the FE governor recruitment service works.