Matthew Dixon has been serving as a link between Semta and SKOPE (Oxford), since 2003. His contribution helps strengthen ‘real world’ awareness at SKOPE, and deeper analysis at Semta. Following a Doctorate from Cambridge in Control and Systems Engineering, he has worked at the interface between industry, policy and research, in particular around knowledge transfer and training, in Information Technology and Engineering. His research interests have focused on the dynamics of Engineering and IT labour markets, skills and professionalism at the UK national, and European, levels, including the development and effective use of skills/competence frameworks, and the clarification of skill shortages. In skills policy he has championed an occupational focus and the importance of recruitment evidence in the work of sectoral skills bodies, and contributed to the objective assessment of skill shortages in the implementation of UK managed migration policy. He has worked on international mutual recognition of professional engineering qualifications, and at the European level he led the development of a CEN ‘pre-standard’ for ICT practitioner skill frameworks, as well as a study on foresight scenarios for these skills for the European ICT industry. As a result of this work he was asked by the European Commission to contribute to developments on the emerging European Qualification Framework (EQF). Matthew can be contacted at md@the-eyrie.net, or by phone on 020 7722 4527.
