The Financial Skills Partnership (FSP) and the UK Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the accounting, finance and financial services sector will be merged into Skills for Justice, the legal services, justice and community safety SSC on 1 April.

Subject to final approval, the FSP will be incorporated into Skills for Justice, but continue to operate under the FSP brand, as Alan Woods remains chief executive officer of Skills for Justice, with his FSP counterpart Liz Field remaining in her role while also become executive lead for legal services.

The group of companies will retain bases in Sheffield and London along with its existing operations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. 

Woods says: “For both the financial and legal sectors, it is a win-win situation, with the potential for all employers to become more competitive through visionary, progressive skills strategies.”

Specific initiatives will include the development of professional services apprenticeships and the expansion of FSP online careers portal Directions into the legal services area.