Andrew has a long standing interest in technical and vocational education dating back to 1994 when he developed one of the first websites in the UK to support the national project introducing NVQs to the Information and Library Services sector.

In 2008 at Business in the Community Andrew researched and wrote BITC’s/Sir Stuart Rose’s report back to the Prime Minister on the ‘talent challenge’. In the same year, as commissioner of the secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Corporate Responsibility, he edited their talent inquiry report providing specific policy proposals to address the skills crisis.

In 2010 he stepped up to lead Spark! – then Hounslow Education Business Partnership – managing the organisation’s transition to operating as an independent charitable social enterprise. Spark! was established by local leaders in 1980 and Andrew had first volunteered for the organisation in 2001. Today the organisation continues its now 40+ year legacy of ensuring that thousands of West London young people each year – particularly those most in need of support – get opportunities to build their experience of the world of work and are more socially mobile.

During his tenure at Spark! Andrew launched KICKSTART; supported his colleagues transfer the CONNECT model for mentoring young women from Australia to West London; and helped broker the partnerships for the first private sector deployment of Project SEARCH ‘supported internships’ programme in the UK, subsequently reviewing its impact.

In 2019 Andrew became a board member of the new West London Institute of Technology and chair of the Academic & Employer Advisory Group. The institute is introducing new level 4 and 5 technical skills programmes in construction, engineering and digital pathways at Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges (HRUC) – as well as transition routes to level 6 (i.e. Degree recognition) at Brunel University.

Since 2020 he has been driving an initiative to see course information (initially Further Education) published across England in an Open Data format. This seeks to allow policymakers and education leaders to commission courses that more easily fill gaps in provision and allow people to find courses to suit them. Andrew has convened partners in this project including BusinessLDN, the Open Data Institute, RocketScience, Cetis LLP and the Department for Education through the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) process.