Automotive Skills Limited is an English registered charity and one of 25 Sector Skills Councils [1] (SSC), responsible for the retail motor industry, awarded a licensed by the then secretary of state at the Department for Education and Skills, the Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP, in February 2004 [2].
The SSC suffered a fraud at the hands of its finance manager, which was discovered in 2006 [3]. Subsequently, Automotive Skills' SSC license was transferred to the Institute of the Motor Industry in September 2007 [4][5]. The Institute uses the Automotive Skills brand, although the separate charity still exists [6].
The SSC had a contract with the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA)[7], which was replaced by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES)[8] on 1 April 2008. One role of the UKCES will be to manage the performance of the Sector Skills Councils, advising Ministers on their re-licensing [9].
The members of Automotive Skills Limited appointed liquidators PJ Clark and PD Williams of corporate restructuring organisation MCR [10], on 24 July 2008 [11].