Accreditation – Facilitating Trade & Supporting UK plc

As the UK enters a critical period of trade negotiations with the EU and the USA, now is a good time to explore the important role played by standards and accreditation in facilitating international trade. Matt Gantley, CEO of the UK’s National Accreditation Body UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) explains how UK plc is able to plug into the international network of Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) that support the “certified once, accepted everywhere” concept. Speaker: Matt Gantley is the Chief Executive of UKAS, the UK’s Accreditation Body and major contributor to the national quality infrastructure. Accreditation by UKAS means that conformity assessment (testing and calibration laboratories, inspection and certification bodies) have been assessed against internationally recognised standards to demonstrate their competence, impartiality and performance capability. Matt has over 20 years’ experience in the conformity assessment and prior to joining UKAS he was the Managing Director of NQA Certification and held senior Directorship positions in certification, training and consulting enterprises. His key achievements include strategic and commercial development alongside international management in emerging markets. Matt is passionate about corporate and business strategy and served as a visiting MBA lecturer at Manchester Business School. Matt has also fulfilled Non-Exec roles for Elmhurst (EPBD Training/Certification), was a Board Director of SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) and was the Chairman of the Association of British Certification Bodies. Matt is an active member of CQI, IOSH and IEMA.