Many different agencies and organisations are working hard trying to help Londoners get jobs and London businesses get the skills they need.
Working in partnership
Many issues, many solutions
London faces barriers to employment probably more complex and varied than those elsewhere in the UK. The enormous variation in skills levels and educational qualifications, the high levels of deprivation and disadvantage, and the extent of diversity, with the language barriers it can bring.
An equally complex combination of agencies, both national and local, is working to tackle these and other barriers. Duplication and overlap are inevitable. But at the GLA we are working hard to minimise waste and complication and coordinate efforts. We want to deliver coherent and efficient support to Londoners seeking work and to business and public sector employers who need skills to compete in the 21st century global economy and deliver the services London needs.
The London Skills and Employment Board is at the heart of London's response, and has laid out a strategy to increase London employment from 70.5% to 72%, to raise skills levels and to give young and disadvantaged Londoners a stake in society and a real alternative to crime. The Board works closely with London's boroughs and with central government agencies – the Department for Work and Pensions, London’s Learning and Skills Council, with its £635 million adult skills budget, and Jobcentre Plus, delivering front line support to Londoners and London employers.
