Jenny Johnston is Co-Chair of the West Midlands Apprenticeship Ambassador Network and People & Culture Manager at KMF, a Staffordshire-based engineering firm. Through KMF’s dedicated in-house apprenticeship program, Jenny is passionate about developing and nurturing talent via apprenticeships. As Chair of the West Midlands Apprentice Ambassador Network, she shares updates, best practice, and supports apprentices and employers in promoting the value of apprenticeships. Demonstrating her commitment further, Jenny is nearing the end of her own Level 7 Senior Leader apprenticeship, giving her first-hand experience of the challenges and rewards of completing such a program. A seasoned judge in apprenticeship awards, she has a keen eye for excellence.
Jagdeep Soo, former Executive Director Pathway Group leads the Multicultural Apprenticeship & Skills Alliance, Multicultural Apprentice Network and the Apprenticeship Branding Conference. His primary focus is increasing Accessibility of Opportunity and Advancing Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Mobility for marginalised groups in Apprenticeships & Skills. He has over 25 years’ experience in the employment support sector leading mainstream contracts across the United Kingdom. Jagdeep is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturers & Commerce and the Institute of Employability Professionals. A multi-award winner including winning the Overall WorldSkills ED&I Heroes Awards Winner 2025. He is also a judge for several national awards including DfE National Apprenticeship & Skills Awards, Kaplan Apprenticeship Awards, Lloyds Banking Group Apprenticeship & Skills Awards, OAL Awards, Quality Professional Awards and the WorldSkills ED&I Heroes Awards.
Kelly Harris is the Skills and Employability Service Manager at Sandwell Council, bringing over 20 years of experience in the employment and skills sector. She leads strategic delivery across Employment and Skills, Careers Education, and Adult Learning services, with a strong focus on aligning provision to local labour market needs and widening participation in education and employment.
Kelly is a passionate advocate for apprenticeships as high-quality pathways for both young people and adults. She champions their use across the Council to support workforce planning and professional development — including drawing on her own experience as a Level 7 Senior Leader apprenticeship graduate through the Apprenticeship Levy.
Her work is deeply rooted in social impact, with a strong commitment to supporting care-experienced young people, those with SEND, and other underrepresented groups to access meaningful employment and training opportunities. Kelly actively promotes inclusive practices across the organisation and beyond, collaborating with regional partners to strengthen transitions, tackle economic inactivity, and promote lifelong learning.
I am the People Director at Higgs LLP, a leading Midlands law firm. An MCIPD-qualified HR professional, Board member and workplace mediator, I have over a decade’s experience in the legal sector shaping talent, reward, engagement and inclusion strategies. I lead the firm’s award-winning wellbeing agenda and am committed to creating opportunities through apprenticeships, graduate pathways and community partnerships. As an advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion, I work closely with under-represented groups and local schools, serving as an Enterprise Advisor and Chair of the Black Country Cornerstone Employer Group. I am dedicated to ensuring people at every career stage can thrive.
I am Head of Legal Services at Higgs LLP. I have extensive experience in managing people within the legal sector, my previous role being at an international law firm for 16 years. My team and I work tirelessly to provide an excellent level of support across all areas of the firm from the client services team who look after our clients when they visit us to our secretaries who produce quality work for our legal advisers to share with our clients. The best part about my role is having the opportunity to develop our people, we do this frequently and could not do so without the backing of my team.
John Murray is Assistant Principal for Commercial Development at Halesowen College, a leading Further Education college offering a wealth of courses for post-16 learners as well as adult learners looking to reskill or upskill.
With over twenty years’ experience in the FE sector, he is responsible for full stakeholder engagement activity and initiatives that support in bridging the gap between education and employment.
He oversees the Apprenticeships and Employer Engagement Teams, adult skills development, the relationship with the WMCA and was the success behind the college leading on the digital strands in the LSIF (Local Skills Improvement Fund) project.
Kevin Davis is Chair of the Ladder Apprenticeship Foundation, which for over ten years has championed the creation of more than 10,000 apprenticeships across the Black Country and wider region. Through awareness campaigns, awards, and its Ladder Skills Academy at Millennium Point, the Foundation continues to promote apprenticeships as a powerful route to skills, aspiration, and opportunity.
Alongside his role with the Ladder Foundation, Kevin serves as Chief Executive of the Vine Trust Group, Chair of The Mercian Multi-Academy Trust, and a Non-Executive Director with the Coventry & Warwickshire Integrated Care Board and Black Country Housing Group. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands and a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Programme.
