Nic Westcott (Chair)
Nic’s background is in transformation, culture, and HR leadership across private and public sectors, with experience in operational leadership within service and infrastructure organisations.
Nic joined Nuclear Waste Services in 2021 as HR and transformation director, with responsibility for shaping the skills and culture that would aid the progression of the Geological Disposal Facility programmes.
She joined the nuclear industry from the water and waste company Severn Trent PLC, where she led teams in HR, group reward and employee experience.
Nic became Chief People Officer at Sellafield Ltd in January 2024.
Chris Nattress
Chris has been the principal and chief executive at Lakes College since 2013, where he held the deputy principal role for five years previously.
With a background in finance and banking, Chris went on to develop a career as a teacher, manager and senior leader in Further Education and Higher Education colleges.
Chris prides himself in having particular interests in apprenticeships within the skills system, and the role colleges play in transforming lives for local communities and the wider economy.
In his current role, he provides leadership and direction through the college mission and vision of sustaining an excellent technical college, and maximising opportunities for the communities and industries of Cumbria and beyond.
He sits on several boards and forums including as a member of Association of School and College leaders, a member of the West Cumbria Headteachers and Principals Group, as a governor for Lakes College as well as Cockermouth High School and he is also a founder member of the Lakes College Maths Centre for Excellence. Chris also acts as a full board member of the National College for Nuclear.
Matt Tudor
Matt is a highly credible leader who has acquired exceptional experience and understanding of managing high-performing teams, building and nurturing multi-level stakeholder partnerships, delivering transformational change and – significantly – delivering innovative, exciting and hugely efficient technological solutions to identified regional and national skills training needs.
As Vice Principal – Strategy & Partnerships at Bridgwater & Taunton College he has presided over significant year-on-year growth in apprentice numbers – up from just 700 in 2012 to nearly 3000 in 2020 – that flies in the face of current trends, and positions the College as the leading Apprenticeship provider in the South West.
He is also a founder Board member of the National College for Nuclear (NCfN) – one of only five National Colleges – and has been instrumental in the award of the South West Institute of Technology to BTC as part of a two university, five FE College partnership focused on the regional priorities of digital learning and advanced manufacturing.
Peter Flewitt
Peter Flewitt is a professor in the School of Physics at the University of Bristol and the University representative on the College Board.
He was awarded a DSc, London University, via Imperial College. He was a senior technical manager with Magnox North Limited , Berkeley Centre ,and its predecessor companies following privatization of the Central Electricity Generating Board. His research focuses on supporting continued safe operation of nuclear and conventional power plants.
He is a non- Executive Director of the South West Nuclear Hub , University of Bristol; a member of the Board of the Bristol-Oxford Nuclear Research Centre; a Director of the U K Forum for Engineering Structural Integrity; a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering .
Jamie White
Jamie has been involved in skills and training throughout his working life, starting with a 20 year career as an officer in the RAF. He served in a number of war zones where leadership and meticulous planning were the expectation. He was involved in Battle Management, Intelligence and Flight Operations as well as United Nations Peacekeeping and NATO Ambassadorial roles.
Jamie then joined the CITB, holding a number of senior roles in his 10 year tenure, including the Head of the National Skills Academy for Construction. During that time he was involved in many large scale projects including TTT, the Olympic 2012 build, Highways Agency projects (M25 widening) and Building Schools for the Future. He joined EDF in 2014 as their Central Training Manager for Hinkley Point C (HPC) and has held a range of roles, working both directly for HPC and the wider EDF business. He was responsible for many strategic developments including the Apprenticeship Strategy and ECITB Levy considerations as well as the ‘Centres of Excellence’ concept.
With a wealth of knowledge around funding, Labour Market Intelligence and a reptation for achievement, he now is on secondment to the NCfN team with an aim to expand the footprint into the South East with a particular focus on Sizewell C and the Green Energy Skills agenda.
Professor Jill Stewart
In her current role, Jill has overarching responsibility for the strategic and academic leadership within the Institute of Engineering, Computing and Advanced Manufacturing at the University of Cumbria. The Institute was founded in 2023 and is distinguished by its wide-ranging engagement with regional employers leading to a range of high-quality research programmes and industrially relevant taught programmes. Prior to her appointment at Cumbria, Jill held several senior leadership roles including Head of Department of Engineering and Mathematics at Sheffield Hallam University, and Head of School of Engineering at the University of Chester and University of Lincoln.
Jill’s research interests centre around systems modelling and optimisation. Most recently, she has been involved in several fully funded research project to develop algorithms and hardware that improve the health outcomes of patients receiving kidney dialysis. These projects continue at the University of Cumbria in collaboration with the University of Nottingham and Royal Derby Hospital.
Jill has attracted over £1.8M in research funding and is the author of more than 70 publications and has delivered numerous invited lectures. She has won prestigious awards including the Charles Sharpe Beecher Prize for aerospace research and the THE award for Outstanding Employer Engagement Initiatives.
Jill is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Steve Layton
Steve Layton is the Head of Engineering Operation at Rolls-Royce plc.
Steve grew up in Derby and joined Rolls-Royce in August 1988 as an apprentice. He has over 30 years of experience across Civil Aerospace, central Corporate Engineering, and more recently the Defence sector. Over 50% of his career has been dedicated to delivering engineering excellence through transforming capability, improving product quality, and ensuring robust business management.
Steve holds a BEng (Hons) degree in Mechanical Engineering from Loughborough University, and an MSc in Programme Management from the University of Manchester.
Steve represents Rolls-Royce on the Nuclear Skills Delivery Board providing leadership for the implementation of the National Nuclear Strategic Plan for Skills, and is currently leading a significant campaign to resource our Engineering team during a fantastic period of business growth. This includes working closely with the National College for Nuclear and the University of Derby to implement a Nuclear Skills Academy. The first cohort of 200 apprentices were welcomed in September 2022.