Having been a specialist recruitment consultant to the defence industry for six years, Paul started in the post-16 sector in 1993 as a Recruitment Consultant on Training for Work contracts. He subsequently worked in a variety of related operational and senior management roles, culminating in a highly successful tenure as Director of Business Development for TBG Learning. On leaving this post he worked as a consultant for a time, including a spell managing WBL delivery at Barking College in East London, before joining ALP in September 2003 where he now oversees all aspects of operational and policy delivery, particularly concentrating on the alignment of the skills and employability agendas. Paul holds a First Class Honours degree in International Relations from the University of Keele, an MA in Post-Compulsory Education and Training from the University of Sheffield and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.