William Roe is Chair of Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Government agency created in 2008 to give Scotland’s future workforce a competitive edge in the 21st century economy. He is Scotland Commissioner on the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.  In addition he is Chair of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the regional economic and community development agency for the north-western half of Scotland.    He is a non-executive Director of the Pension, Disability and Carers Service of the Department for Work and Pensions.

He is a graduate of Edinburgh University in social science, a Fellow of the RSA and a member of the Innovation Programmes Committee of NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts.

In June 2009 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Open University for his work in the fields of learning, training and community development.