Our people

Our people are our greatest strength. Enabling skills growth in the science sector for over two decades.

our people 
commitment

We take our responsibility to our people seriously. Our People Commitment describes how we support one another through trust, respect and opportunities for growth.

It covers wellbeing, communication, fairness, flexible working and continuous development. It sets clear expectations for how we care for our people and how we support their success.

Our Leadership Team
Our Board
Our Associates
Our Leadership Team
Our leadership team combines decades of experience and expertise. Find out more about the people who define the direction of our business.
Justine Fosh
Group CEO, Cogent Skills
I am incredibly proud of the difference our people make. We know that some of the greatest challenges we face…
Steve Smith
Managing Director of SIAS
Steve joined SIAS in January 2022 as Managing Director and is responsible for setting and implementing the strategic direction. Steve…
Nicola Kettley
People and Culture Director
I am passionate about the role of skills, education, and excellent employment practices in social mobility.
Karl Gorge
Director of Finance, Business Functions and Company Secretary
Karl graduated with a BA honours in Accounting and qualified as an accountant (FCCA) whilst working in Industry. He has…
Nick Durrington
Managing Director Cogent Skills Apprenticeship & Graduate Business
Nick leads the Cogent Skills Apprenticeship and Graduate Business Unit and has extensive knowledge of the skills and training arena,…
James McIntosh
Managing Director, Apprenticeship Delivery
I am very passionate about personal development, skills, competency, training and apprenticeships.
Andrew Jones
Head of Research
Andrew joined Cogent Skills in December 2023 as Head of Research, where he leads labour market intelligence, insights, data visualisation…
Jude Knight
Head of Low Carbon Skills
Jude has more than 20 years’ experience of the skills sector, working in both operational and strategic functions at a…
Alex Slater
Head of Operations, Courses & Consultancy
Alex is the Head of Operations for the Consultancy and Courses Business Unit in Darlington overseeing the annual delivery of…
Roger Thomas
Group Head of Marketing & Communications
As Group Head of Marketing & Communications, Roger leads our marketing function which supports Cogent’s various business units and ensures…
Fay Treloar
Head of Skills
Fay possesses extensive experience in relationship management across academia, industry, local government, the NHS, charity and voluntary sectors.
Tricia Austin
Nuclear Leader / NSAN Managing Director
Our Board
The Cogent Skills Board comprises highly experienced science and nuclear industry professionals who hold senior positions in Sector-based employers and Trade Bodies. The Board normally meets four times a year and ad hoc as is required.

The Cogent Skills Board oversees our strategy, approves our business plans and any key companywide decisions, and monitors our performance.
David Vineall
Chair of Cogent Skills
David joined the Cogent Skills board in 2025 and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge within the industry.
Justine Fosh
Group CEO, Cogent Skills
I am incredibly proud of the difference our people make. We know that some of the greatest challenges we face…
Liz Collins
Executive Director, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pfizer
Liz has held a number of positions across the pharmaceutical sciences business in scientific leadership and management roles. In early…
Nick Gardiner
Chief Operations Officer, BioIndustry Association
Nick joined the BIA as COO in October 2014, bringing with him extensive industry and not-for-profit management experience. Nick is…
Elizabeth de Jong
Chief Executive Officer, UK Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA)
Elizabeth de Jong joined as Chief Executive of the UK Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA) in April 2022. As CEO, Elizabeth…
Joe Howe
Academic Lead for the Humber Industrial Cluster (University of Lincoln)
He has extensive experience of working interchangeably with industry on major environmental projects and initiatives across the UK and overseas.
Adam Ellis
Director
With over 30 years’ experience working in human resources in a range of multinational companies including EDF Energy, American Express…
Matthew Lay
Head of the EDF Nuclear Skills Alliance, EDF Energy
Matthew has extensive experience working with the sector and within local government.
Katie Woods-Ruddick
Chief People Officer, px group.
Katie Woods-Ruddick is Chief People Officer at px Group which provides operations management, engineering services and energy management solutions to…
Karl Gorge
Director of Finance, Business Functions and Company Secretary
Karl graduated with a BA honours in Accounting and qualified as an accountant (FCCA) whilst working in Industry. He has…
Steve Elliott
Chief Executive, Chemical Industries Association
Steve Elliott joined the Chemical Industries Association in 1997, spending four and half years as Head, International Trade with additional…
Sue Ferns
Senior Deputy General Secretary at Prospect
Sue is a member of the TUC Executive Committee and the General Council’s lead on energy, environment and sustainability
Samantha Harris
Director of Shareholder and Stakeholder Relations, Nuclear Decommissioning Author
Samantha Harris joined the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) in 2021 where she works in Corporate Affairs, leading a team covering…
Our associates
Our associate network is a pool of vetted, trusted and talented indviduals selected to help us deliver projects, in collaboration with our existing team.

Our agile approach to working means we can tap into a wide talent pool of expertise to create the right client focussed solution for your business. You can learn more about each of them below.

From time to time we review and update our associate network, so do look out for upcoming opportunities.
Angus Keddie
Trainer Consultant
Angus combines a strong technical safety background, proven management and facilitation credentials and robust communication skills.
Ashley Haslett
Trainer Consultant
30+ years as Operational Manager / Director in the high hazard industries Operational responsibility & experience from 5 COMAH Upper…
Brad Eccles
Trainer
20+ years’ experience in the management of low probability high consequence risk areas, mainly in regulated industries such as oil…
Chris Venn
Trainer
Built and led multi-national Process Safety Management, Loss Prevention/ Technical Safety and Risk Management teams on three continents in Consulting,…
Eamon Chandler
Trainer Consultant
Eamon has been an operations and engineering executive in a variety of high exposure strategic roles within the Oil and…
Graeme Ellis
Trainer Consultant
Graeme is a Fellow of the IChemE with 4 decades of experience in the major hazards process industry, working globally…
Graham Doggett
Trainer Consultant
Graham is an ATEX and DSEAR specialist with experience across the utilities sector. With an in depth knowledge of hazardous…
Iain Grime
Trainer Consultant
Iain has over 20 years of experience in Refining, Fuel Storage and Railway Construction industries. Having been responsible for multiple…
Jon Wallis
Trainer
Served various high hazard process industries for nearly two decades and has experience providing operations, maintenance and project delivery solutions…
Kris Ellenthorpe
Trainer Consultant
Kris is a process safety consultant specialising in the quantification of risk from both process safety and environmental perspectives.
Laurence Hilton
Trainer
Extremely experienced in high-hazard industries and has been responsible for multiple sites. Lead auditor for 20 years, with diverse knowledge…
Lorraine Braben
Consultant
30+years’ of Human Factors experience within the High hazard industries, managing the risk of human error / failure and limiting…
Malcolm Sarstedt
Trainer Consultant
Malcolm has 30+ years' experience in leading electrical safety management and process safety management in large international companies.
Michael Wright
Consultant
A Human Factors specialist, with over 30 years’ experience of consultancy, training and research. Experienced within the following sectors: nuclear,…
Roel Van Veen
Trainer
12 years Bluewater Energy Services lead manager HSE for FPSO new builts and large modifications, process engineer and risk assessment…
Roger Berriman
Trainer Consultant
Roger is a Process Safety and Loss Prevention leader having been responsible for process safety management activities within a major…
Ron Ramshaw
Trainer Consultant
Ron has worked in the major hazard industries for over 40 years. Degree qualified, he has worked onshore, offshore and…
Sarah Holloway
Trainer Consultant
Sarah Holloway is a distinguished logistics professional with over 25 years of diverse experience, ranging from her humble beginnings as…
Tony Ogden
Trainer Consultant
Tony is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers with a distinguished career in major hazard…
Learn, grow and reach  your potential

We’re regularly looking for talented people to join us, either directly or as an associate supporting the delivery of skills solutions to customer across our sector. You can view our current opportunities to work for us, or talk to us to find out more about working for Cogent.

Our inclusive culture
We support our people by taking a continuous improvement approach to equity, diversity and inclusion. This means we continually refine how we work, listen to what our teams need and create structures that help every person feel safe, respected and included.

We bring this to life through our:

• Our ED&I Champion Network
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Board-level engagement on ED&I
• Ongoing projects focused on women’s health and neurodiversity
• Our pledge to the Menopause at Work campaign

We’re proud that our commitment to our people has been recognised by Investors in People.
Skills to better our world
Supporting and investing in skills for our sector
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