Matthew Dixon
Matthew Dixon is a Skills Policy Researcher and Consultant specializing in the labor markets for engineering and information technology (IT) skills. He has served in senior positions both in the United Kingdom and internationally, spanning the public policy, research, development, technology transfer, training, and enterprise-support areas. After earning an engineering science degree at Southampton and a PhD in control and systems engineering at Cambridge, Dr. Dixon spent eight years at an international policy research institute, finishing as Scientific Secretary. On returning to the United Kingdom, he worked as Business Development Manager for the knowledge management systems stream of technology transfer business at the National Computing Centre. He was then appointed Chief Executive of the National Association of IT Centres, representing the national interests of over 100 IT technician training centers.
Dr. Dixon later served as International Consultant at the Engineering Council, and supported the negotiating of international multilateral mutual recognition agreements on behalf of UK professional engineers and technicians. He continues to serve on the Council’s International Advisory Panel. In 1997 he joined the IT National Training Organisation, of which he was appointed Director of Research and Strategy in 2000. On a freelance basis, he has carried out assignments on IT and skills matters for a range of public-sector entities, professional bodies, and commercial organizations in the United Kingdom, at the European level, and beyond. He coauthored a European (CEN) pre-standard on an EU-level e-skills meta framework, and led — for the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies — a study for the European Commission titled e-skills Foresight Scenarios for the ICT Industry in Europe.
Dr. Dixon was active within the British Computer Society (BCS) from 1995, chairing its Training and Career Development Committee for six years, and serving on a number of boards and working groups. He also served on the Institute of Physics Professional Standards Committee from 2003 to 2011. Dr. Dixon represented the BCS on the Home Office agency Information Technology Communications and Electronics sector advisory panel (advising on migration policy) from 2002, and has made significant contributions to two sector panels (ITCE and engineering) and to the subsequent Migration Advisory Committee, in particular around the assessment of serious skill shortages.
Most recently he has worked for the UK Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies (Semta) and remains a Fellow at the Center on Skills, Knowledge and Organizational Performance (SKOPE) at Oxford.
