David Grailey

David joined MTC Training in January 2022, bringing over 30 years’ experience in the UK education and skills sector to lead the organisation as it continues to fortify the UK’s manufacturing sector with the next generation of future-proofed engineers and technicians.

David previously led two commercially successful qualification businesses. This included 13 years as chief executive of NCFE, one of the UK's largest awarding bodies for vocational, technical and academic qualifications. During his leadership, NCFE grew the number of student registrations from 75,000 to more than 616,000. The business was listed in The Times’ Top 100 Companies to Work For nine times, while significantly increasing profits and turnover. He also led the significant investment into setting up an apprenticeship End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO), which delivered more than 7,500 assessments in its first full year in operation.

Before this, David was chief executive of Food & Drink Qualifications, the qualifications organisation for the food and drink manufacturing sector. Previously, he held a number of education and skills appointments, including at University College Salford. A former butchery apprentice himself, David went on to obtain an MSc from Cranfield University.