Jane Watts

Jane Watts (M Ed. PGCE, BA) is the Development Officer for Equalities and Migration in the Europe and the Regions team. Jane is managing the LSC’s Single Equality Scheme Support Programme and jointly leading NIACE’s progress towards its own Equalities Scheme.

For the past three years at NIACE Jane was the Project Manager of Progress GB, a national Equal (European Social Fund) project which piloted, disseminated and mainstreamed innovative approaches to support employers to overcome skill shortages and to support refugees and migrants to develop and adapt their skills for the UK labour market through a range of lifelong learning opportunities. NIACE was the lead partner of Progress GB which included national, regional and local partners. Progress GB is also working with a transnational partnership, MEET.

Jane has a long involvement in and commitment to the development of integrated and embedded equalities approaches and in developing innovative practice towards improved social justice and cohesion.

As well as issues affecting new communities, Jane’s other interests are in the area of disadvantage in the labour market and learning interventions which help to address this, regeneration, management development in the voluntary and community sector and European issues.

Immediately before joining NIACE Jane managed the successful Action Learning for Managers action research project which was a national partnership led by the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action. This has now been mainstreamed as Action Learning Matters. Jane’s experience is based on many years of developing, running, researching and evaluating community based learning programmes and of working in community/co-operative businesses. She also has a long experience of European funding, especially ESF, and the third sector, including social enterprises, co-operatives, voluntary and community organisations.

Jane is currently studying towards a PhD at the University of Nottingham; the work is based on a partnership approach to innovative approaches to unemployment in disadvantaged communities and the use the partnership made of action learning.

Publications include:

Watts, J, Farnell, R and Blaxter, L (2006) Développement des compétences professionelles et action communautaire in Guyot, J-L, and Mainguet, C (eds) La Formation Professionnelle Continue: Stratégies Collectives Brussels BE, de boeck

Benqué, N; Timsit, I; Conboy, P; Watts, J. (1997) Changing the future/Changer d’avenir; the lessons from three European actions against exclusion. Coventry City Council

Holmes, K, Jones, R and Watts, J. (2004) Action Learning Matters. Sheffield, NACVS

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