Tom Bewick was appointed chief executive of the Skills Council for the Creative and Cultural Industries in September 2004. In less than six months, he firmly established the new company and high-profile board with chair, Tony Hall, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House. Government successfully awarded the SSC its 5-year licence in July 2005.

Tom has over a decade of senior experience at national and regional level in education and training policy. His roles since 1994 include: senior policy advisor to Ministers at the Department for Education and Skills; Director of Policy and Communications with the NTO National Council and as Director of Skills at Thames Gateway Learning and Skills Council where he worked closely with the Treasury and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, completing the first-ever Skills Audit of the area. He was elected fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1999.

Leaving school initially with no formal qualifications, Tom is passionate about opportunities for education and skills being made available to everyone. After a period as a volunteer on a Cree Indian reservation in northern Alberta, Canada, Tom returned to the UK to attend night school and University. He holds a first honours degree in social policy from the University of Bath and a Masters degree from the University of Bath and Ljubljana University, Slovenia, where he specialised in employment and training policy.