Chris Humphries

Chris Humphries has a long and distinguished record in the world of vocational training and skills. A highly experienced manager and chief executive, he was chief executive of the Hertfordshire Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) from 1991-1994, chief executive of the TEC National Council from 1994-1998, and then Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce from 1998-2001. In 2001, Chris was appointed director general of the UK’s City & Guilds, the UK's largest vocational qualifications awarding body, serving in that role until 2007, and more than doubling its turnover from £50 to £106 million in that time. His final executive role was as the founding chief executive of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, reporting to the Prime Minister and the three UK nation's First Ministers, and advising the four UK governments on policy and practise in skills and vocational training from 2007 until his retirement from paid work in 2010.   In voluntary roles, Chris served as chair of the UK government’s Skills Task Force for three years from 1998, also chairing several charitable NGOs with a particular focus on tertiary and higher education. Most recently, he was chair of the University of West London for nine years from 2010 until 2018. Chris joined the WorldSkills movement in 2000 as the chair of WorldSkills UK, and led the UK's 2006 successful bid to host WorldSkills London 2011.  He continued to serve as Chair of WorldSkills UK, and of the WorldSkills London 2011 competition until it's successful completion in 2011, and final company closure in 2012. As an Honorary Member of WorldSkills International, he supported the WorldSkills competitions in Sao Paulo 2015, Abu Dhabi 2017, and Kazan 2019, and was deeply involved in the development of the Vision 2025 strategic plan from 2016 onwards.

Elected to the Board of WorldSkills International at WorldSkills Kazan 2019, Chris was appointed Acting President and Chair of the Board by the WSI Board upon the tragic death of Jos de Goey in March 2020. Chris’s appointment as President and Chair of the Board was unanimously supported and formally ratified by the General Assembly in October 2020. His term of office as President was completed at the end of WorldSkills Lyon 2024.

Born in Australia, Chris moved to the UK in 1974, where he still lives with his wife and two daughters. In 1998, the British Government awarded him the CBE for services to training and enterprise. 

University of West London