A letter from our CEO

Firstly can I take the opportunity to wish a very happy and healthy 2023 to you and your loved ones.

As you may be aware, our CEO of nine and a half years, David Gittins, took retirement at the end of December, and I am immensely proud to have been appointed by our Board to take over as CEO of LASER. Having been appointed as Deputy CEO at the same time David was appointed CEO, I have always worked very closely with David as LASER’s SMT, and my challenge now is to continue to lead LASER on its mission of transforming learners’ lives through the recognition of their learning and achievement.

I feel hugely privileged to take over responsibility for LASER at this point in time which sees us consistently in the top 30 Ofqual regulated vocational Awarding Organisations for certifications, one of the top two Awarding Organisations for the Security Industry Authority licence-linked security sector qualifications, and a well-respected QAA licensed Access Validating Agency for the Access to Higher Education Diploma. We have a fabulous team of staff here at LASER who make us what we are, and without whom none of our achievements would be possible, and I know that many of you already know a good number of our team, and value and appreciate the relationship you have with them.

I’m very pleased to introduce you to our new Deputy CEO, Dr Fiona Summers. Fiona joined us on 3 January with a wealth of experience in the awarding sector including working closely with stakeholders and regulators, and is quickly getting her feet under the LASER table.

I’m also delighted to let you know that Sue Watson, who many of you know as a long-standing manager in our Access to HE team, has been appointed to a newly created role in LASER, and is now Head of Access, leading this team.

Fiona, Sue and myself all have absolute dedication and commitment to our learners, our centres and our staff, and to the LASER ethos of being an awarding organisation with a social conscience, promoting widening participation, social inclusion, and lifetime learning for all, and we are really looking forward to working together with you to continue to transform our learners’ lives.

Here at LASER we pride ourselves on the relationships we build with our centres and the service and support we provide, and that extends across the entire organisation, so please do contact any of us at any time, and we look forward to continuing to work with you this year and in the future.

Kind regards,

Vida

Vida E Stewart

CEO