Who is Cathy Gallagher?

Cathy Gallagher is our Senior Consultant in Learning at Skills for Justice. Prior to joining the team in 2013, Cathy worked in the justice sector for over 20 years. Her hands-on experience includes roles within the Courts and Tribunals Services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where she worked within in operational roles and latterly the learning and development team as Centre Manager for the delivery of court specific and generic qualifications.

Cathy’s extensive career in the justice sector has shaped her strong commitment to making a positive and lasting impact. Through her work on projects influencing role design and operational improvement, she developed a clear sense of purpose in supporting fair and effective systems. This passion continues to drive her work at Skills for Justice, where she helps organisations develop learning solutions that deliver meaningful change.

In addition to her sector experience, Cathy brings a wealth of knowledge in assessment and quality assurance. She is the current Head of Centre for the Workforce Development Trust (WDT) Accredited Training Centre, responsible for development, delivery and oversight of the centre’s qualifications, including Assessor and Internal Quality Assurance Qualifications. She has helped organisations strengthen their assessment practices and enhance quality assurance processes, ensuring robust and reliable standards.

Cathy also has wider consultancy experience working with large and diverse stakeholder groups developing frameworks and occupational and professional standards. A recent project Cathy worked on was the creation of an Adult Health, Care and Wellbeing Core Capabilities Framework for HM Prison and Probation.

Who is Oonagh Taylor?

Oonagh Taylor joined Skills for Justice in April 2022, bringing extensive leadership experience from a long career in education and skills development to our learning team. Throughout her career, she has successfully led the design and delivery of learning and teaching programmes across a wide range of curriculum areas, including contexts within the justice sector. Her proven track record demonstrates her ability to adapt training to diverse learner needs while delivering measurable outcomes.

Oonagh’s strategic communication skills have played a key role in building strong partnerships with colleagues, external partners, and key stakeholders to drive meaningful change. She has led on high-profile projects, including supporting contracts with the National Probation Service and the National Crime Agency, ensuring initiatives are delivered with impact and integrity. Her collaborative approach and clear vision help shape workforce solutions that are practical, sustainable, and forward-thinking.

In her broader consultancy roles, Oonagh has specialised in FE management apprenticeship standards, role and competency frameworks, and qualifications development. She has facilitated trailblazer groups and employer boards, liaising with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to craft and review new standards at all levels. Her background in vocational training, project management and hospitality gives her a unique perspective on workplace learning, enabling her to design solutions that are high-quality, relevant, and fit for purpose.

Putting expertise into practice

Cathy and Oonagh’s work at Skills for Justice delivers tangible impacts for sector-wide learning and development.

Assessor Awareness Training for the National Crime Agency

A strong example of this is their role in supporting the National Crime Agency as part of its continuous professional development programme. They were commissioned to deliver tailored Assessor Awareness Training to help strengthen assessment practice across the organisation. As part of this, they trained 36 delegates on core assessment concepts, models, ethical standards, and good practice, with over half of participants rating the course “excellent”. Several learners have since progressed to full assessor qualifications, further reinforcing quality learning and development capability within NCA.

Workforce transition initiative for HM Prison and Probation Service

Their expertise has also been instrumental in a major workforce transformation initiative led by the Ministry of Justice in partnership with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. As part of a national drive to strengthen probation services and increase recruitment, Skills for Justice was commissioned to expand training capacity for Practice Tutor Assessors (PTAs). PTAs are experienced probation professionals responsible for mentoring and assessing trainee Probation Officers who are undertaking the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP).

To support this ambition, Cathy and the Learning team delivered the Level 3 Award in Training, Assessment and Quality Assurance (TAQA), equipping PTAs with the knowledge and skills to assess occupational competence effectively in the workplace. The programme provided a structured learner journey, combining workshops, tailored assessment planning, one-to-one support and rigorous quality assurance processes.

225 trainee PTAs were registered on the programme, with 158 successfully qualifying and being deployed across probation regions. The team delivered more than 100 inductions and workshops, reviewed nearly 13,000 pieces of PQiP evidence, and completed around 1,300 online assessor reviews. This significantly strengthened assessment capacity within probation services, directly contributing to the increase in qualified Probation Officers nationally.

Audit and training support for HM Inspectorate of Probation

Cathy and Oonagh have also played a key role in supporting His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, providing audit and training support to enhance inspection capability and professional standards. As Tessa Webb, Lead for Professionalisation, reflected:

“The development of a bespoke inspection skills certificate and training programme demanded a root and branch overhaul of our approach to learning and development and quality. We are proud of what we have achieved and take pride that our inspectors are equipped with the necessary skills to undertake high-quality inspections, and their skills can be recognised via this accreditation.”

Alongside these major projects, Cathy and Oonagh design and deliver specialist learning interventions, directly drawing on their combined experience in justice, education, assessment, and quality assurance. They contribute to a broad range of consultancy work, from apprenticeship standards development and competency frameworks to strengthening quality assurance systems and building future-focused workforce solutions tailored to organisational needs.

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