The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today met with business leaders and employers involved in the newly relaunched Jobs and Skills Business Partnership to share insights on London’s continued recovery and how the partnership can best support the Mayor’s ambition to double the green economy.
Four major business groups represented on the Partnership – London First, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the London arms of the Federation of Small Businesses and the Confederation of British Industry – have agreed to work together help upskill Londoners support their progression into good jobs and respond to the capital’s labour shortage. They have submitted a joint bid to the Government to produce a Local Skills Improvement Plan for the capital to ensure employers in futureproof sectors and the green economy can find the skilled workers they need.
The Jobs and Skills Business Partnership advises the Mayor on on how to improve skills provision including specialist, industry-relevant and higher level in order to better meet London’s vocational needs. It relaunched with new membership in March enabling a wider network of London’s businesses to be represented. It is chaired by Rajesh Agrawal, the Deputy Mayor of London for Business.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “I’ve made supporting Londoners into good jobs, and doubling the size of London's green economy top priorities and working closely with London’s employers is key to making this happen and to helping us build a better, greener London for everyone.
“I welcome the collaborative bid from these major business groups as they seek to develop a targeted skills plan for London. The insights they bring as representatives of London’s business communities will be vital in creating impactful and industry relevant training. I look forward to our continued partnership as we support more Londoners into good jobs.”
Notes to editors
This meeting is the latest in a series of interventions the Mayor has made to enable Londoners to access industry-specific training and find good jobs in futureproof industries. In May, the Mayor announced £18m of funding to be invested in Skills Bootcamps - short, flexible courses up to 16 weeks to help fast-track Londoners into good jobs. In January, the Mayor also announced a £44m Mayor’s Academies Programme offering free training courses to support low-income and unemployed Londoners into good jobs and help address the growing skills shortage in the capital.
Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs)
Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are a new initiative from the Department for Education for Employer Representative Bodies (ERBs) to develop and publish a plan for skills provision in their area, with the aim of shaping technical skills provision to meet local labour market skills needs.
The four ERBs that sit on the Jobs and Skills Business Partnership – London First, CBI London, FSB London and LCCI – have developed a joint Expression of Interest (EoI) to DfE to produce London’s LSIP. London First are leading the bid, in partnership with the other three ERBs.
The Expression of Interest was submitted on 6 June 2022 and the DfE will announce the successful bidder in Autumn 2022.
The creation of a Green Jobs Task and Finish Group
To support the Mayor’s ambition to double the green economy in London by 2030, the Jobs and Skills Business Partnership is being asked to establish a Green Jobs and Skills Task and Finish Group (the Group). The Group will focus on
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- Informing the development of GLA green skills programmes, including future Skills Bootcamps for London
- Identifying opportunities for promoting green skills and jobs to Londoners
- Identifying opportunities for employers to support green skills training for in-work Londoners
- Identifying opportunities to tackle barriers for underrepresented groups of people from accessing green jobs
Members of the Jobs and Skills Business Partnership include -