Ms Morrey was previously on secondment from the Department for Education and Skills to the National Youth Agency, where she was responsible for managing a workforce development strategy for youth work. She has also held senior posts within the DfES dealing with sector skills policy.
She said, 'I was keen to take this on because of the sheer importance of the agenda for change, and the need to bring more coherence to training and workforce development. It is a pretty challenging task to have the council set up by April but because there is a lot of work to be done, I don't think we can do it in a more leisurely way.
'The council is crucial to delivering the agenda that was set out in the Government's Green Paper, Every Child Matters. We need to make sure the workforce is well qualified and that we have all the training qualifications in place. It is also about our ability to recruit and retain staff and to see that working with children is a worthwhile career and one in which you can progress into other areas of work.'
Ms Morrey said her first task will be to develop the strategic and business plans and to talk to Government departments and other partners to determine 'what they need us to deliver, so that I can design the organisation to be able to deliver the functions'.
The Children, Young People and Families Workforce Development Council, which is one of the five bodies forming the federated UK Skills for Care and Development Sector Skills Council, will have a permanent board, chairman and chief executive by April next year.
