Mayor invests more than £340 million to help Londoners get the professional skills they need to thrive
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced an investment of more than £340 million for the upcoming academic year to help Londoners access training and get good jobs in key sectors of London's economy, such as tech, hospitality and green industries.
This funding will help support around 200,000 Londoners to get the skills and training they need for good jobs, ultimately building the talented workforce needed for London’s economic growth.
This injection of essential funding comes after the Mayor announced the London Growth Plan earlier this year, which includes the development of a new talent strategy as one of his key priorities to help turbocharge the capital’s economy.
The funding includes the annual skills income that is devolved to the Mayor from the Department of Education (DfE) and nearly £10m directly from City Hall, which the Mayor has provided to ensure that as many Londoners as possible are supported through adult education courses.
The investment will be used to fund Londoners to take part in programmes that teach industry relevant skills and support people to access training and employment opportunities in their local areas. The Mayor is also investing in further education to ensure the sector can continue to deliver the skills Londoners need to access good work in key growth sectors.
Since the Mayor was given control over adult skills in London in 2019, more than a million Londoners have received free skills education or training thanks to City Hall funding. The Mayor is continuing to work closely with colleges and education providers to shift the skills industry in London to meet the needs of London’s economy now and in the future. This will ensure that when Londoners finish training, the skills they learn are those industries need most, enabling Londoners and businesses to benefit from highly skilled and motivated employees.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m committed to ensuring that Londoners can gain the skills they need to progress into well-paid jobs in the growing sectors of our economy. This is a central part of our plans to increase economic growth across all parts the capital. I’ve also topped up the adult skills fund by £10m to ensure that colleges and further education providers can continue training those in London who need it the most.
“Thanks to our skills programmes, we are seeing thousands of Londoners enter or re-enter the workforce with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. This is helping us to continue building a better, fairer and more prosperous London for everyone."
Notes to editors
The Adult Skills Fund (ASF) in London has been heavily oversubscribed, which proves that London’s approach is working. The ASF has helped to connect people to training, whilst also providing them with opportunities to develop much needed skills and move into fulfilling jobs. The forthcoming Inclusive Talent Strategy will set out what further actions the Mayor, working with partners across London, will take to build on this success and create an integrated and more employer-led system.
The ASF allocation received from the Department for Education (DfE) is £311,930,838 for the main annual grant provision for the 2025-26 AY and a further sum of £21,984,704 for Free Courses for Jobs.
City Hall is funding up to £10m in the 2025/2026 academic year. This includes:
- Funding Learner Engagement Programmes to support more Londoners to access ASF provision;
- Match-funding to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) People & Skills bespoke intervention ‘Support for Young Londoners’;
- A contribution to the Mayor’s Skills Academies Programme.
- Funding the Community outreach programme
- And a funding to boost the capacity of SMEs via the Grow London Local skills programme and the teaching capacity and capability of London’s skill system
On average 200,000 Londoners complete skills courses each year.