As part of the Black Leadership Initiative, two deputy principals from Exeter and New College Nottingham Colleges will spend a fortnight shadowing the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Chief Executive, Mark Haysom.

During the two weeks, Asha Kemka of New College, Nottingham and Sunaina Mann from Exeter College to will participate in meetings on a national, regional and local level, giving them the opportunity to gain an insight at the highest level of the FE sector.

Currently, there are only six black principals out of over 400 colleges in England. The Black Leadership Initiative is working to address under-representation of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) staff in management positions in the FE sector. The opportunity aims to help the deputy principals develop management skills, knowledge and the experience necessary to apply for the most senior posts.

Mark Haysom commented: "These strategic alliances are an extremely important part of the racial equality agenda and are necessary to address social cohesion issues. The LSC has supported the BLI from its inception as a pilot project and it will continue to show support with shadowing and secondment activities."

Rajinder Mann, Director of the Black Leadership Initiative, stated: "This is an exciting opportunity for both the LSC and our BLI participants as it not only enables networking to take place but also gives black and minority ethnic staff hands on experience at the LSC at a national, regional and local level.

"Both the shadowing and secondment opportunities enable LSCs to provide opportunities in areas where, traditionally, black staff have been under represented."