Mary-Liz is the first person to be appointed to the role for a new body jointly established by SOLAS and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to implement the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025. Prior to heading up the NAO, Mary-Liz was Executive Director for skills development in SOLAS. She also held senior posts in the HEA, leading on enterprise engagement, Springboard+ and equity of access to higher education. A teacher by profession, earlier in her career Mary-Liz taught at second and third-level and worked with early school leavers. She holds a doctorate in Education and Masters’ Degrees in Education and in French.