Key information
Decision type: Director
Directorate: Strategy and Communications
Reference code: DD2701
Date signed:
Date published:
Decision by: Luke Bruce, Assistant Director of Public Affairs and Strategic Partnerships
Executive summary
This decision requests approval for expenditure of up to £62,830 for a GLA subscription to Lightcast online job-postings data for two years (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026). Used alongside traditional sources, this near-real-time information can track and assess job-vacancy trends in London, providing granular information on the demand for jobs and skills. Continued access to this data is vital to support the effective planning and delivery of adult skills provision in London. In particular, this data has been used to support the Mayor’s Skills Academies and Bootcamp programmes. As well as informing GLA policy decisions, it is used to produce high-quality labour market information to support key stakeholders, including skills providers and careers advisers.
Decision
That the Interim Executive Director of Strategy and Communications approves expenditure of up to £62,830, to renew subscription access to local online job-vacancy data for two years (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026).
Part 1: Non-confidential facts and advice
1.1 A strategic approach to commissioning and delivery of skills-related programmes requires access to high-quality and easily accessible labour market information (LMI) to be used for strategic work such as the Skills for London for example. Better LMI can improve the alignment between the skills that employers demand and those that people have. This, in turn, can lead to better outcomes for individuals and businesses.
1.2 To support this aim, the GLA has, in recent years, purchased subscription access to online job-postings data (see, for example, DD2591). This data directly indicates the demand for jobs and skills in the capital, rather than relying on indicators of demand at the occupation level. It has several key advantages over traditional sources of LMI, including in terms of timeliness and granularity.
1.3 In the last year, GLA officers used access to online job-postings data for:
• the Mayor’s Skills Academies programme, to understand the skills gaps linked to priority sectors; this includes the common and specialised skills in demand in each priority sector, and for particular occupations within each sector
• the Wave 5 prospectus of the Bootcamp programme, to understand the skills (both common and technical) in demand; and to guide provider responses to those skills
• quality-mark event presentations for priority sectors, hosted by the GLA
• experimental analysis of retrofit job postings – including trends in online job postings; top titles in demand; and common/transferable and specialised skill
• regular LMI to monitor, and inform stakeholders about, economic trends in London; activity includes quarterly updates on online job postings and analyses of green jobs and skills postings
• granular information on demand for occupational skills, to support the development of skills and employment policy and programmes
• presentations and infographics on skills needs in priority sectors, to share LMI with skills providers and to support careers information and guidance.
1.4 Other sources of labour-demand information, including the Department for Education Employer Skills Survey 2024, lack a sufficiently large sample to support a reliable and robust analysis of regional trends.
2.1 It is proposed that £61,000 (plus 1-3 per cent reseller fee) of funding be used to renew the GLA’s subscription to Lightcast (formerly Emsi Burning Glass) online job-postings data, running from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026. This is in line with the objectives approved in DD2591.
2.2 Used alongside traditional sources, this near-real-time information can track and assess online job-postings trends in London. As noted, it provides granular information on employer demand for jobs and skills (both specialised and transferable) in the capital. This subscription will therefore allow GLA officers to continue sharing useful data and information to support effective planning and delivery of adult skills provision in London.
2.3 It is expected that GLA Economics officers will use this data to:
• update existing outputs to ensure the GLA can access timely information on the local labour market and skills needs
• undertake additional analysis and/or deep dives into areas of particular interest – for example, around skills needs in priority sectors
• produce materials that disseminate the latest data to relevant stakeholders, including skills providers and careers advisers.
2.4 The current GLA subscription with Lightcast will expire on 30 June 2024. Under advice from Transport for London (TfL) Procurement, GLA officers will run a competitive tender using a reseller process. This allows our preferred provider, Lightcast, to provide quotes to the resellers directly. Resellers add a 1-3 per cent fee to the cost; but the lowest quote provided will be selected. Lightcast and the reseller would sign the contract, but all interactions between the GLA and Lightcast will be the same as under previous contractual arrangements. The reseller approach allows a competitive procurement process for a preferred provider; and can be completed over a shorter period compared to other approaches, such as the Request for Quotation process.
2.5 The GLA Economics team reviewed the offer from both Lightcast and another potential provider, Adzuna. While Adzuna improved their service compared to previous years, Lightcast was still found to be the optimal provider based on the following:
• platform usability – search customisation options are simpler
• data exports are easy to extract, and well labelled and structured
• bespoke searches for niche areas such as retrofit can be undertaken in Lightcast
• Lightcast taxonomies and skills classifications are very detailed and well documented
• data and methodologies are available online (via FAQ) for Lightcast
• access to the raw postings text through the Lightcast platform improves data transparency; and allows for better-quality assurance assessments as part of analysis.
2.6 In particular, a key aspect of the analysis produced by GLA Economics uses Lightcast’s application programming interface (API). Access to Lightcast’s job-posting data through the API enables integration with core data analysis and visualisation tools (such as R, Python, etc). The API also permits much more efficient, large-scale data extraction; and more nuanced research that cannot be performed within the online platform. Given the efficiency and ease of reproducibility it allows, the API has been central in producing both the standardised quarterly reports produced by GLA Economics, and the detailed priority-sector analysis produced for a range of internal and external stakeholders. Additionally, compared to other providers, Lightcast’s API is particularly well developed and documented, making it accessible to a wider range of potential researchers within the GLA.
2.7 Lightcast continues to best address our work requirements, especially at a time when labour market data is becoming more essential to present reliable and timely information on London’s economy. Therefore, Lightcast offers greater value for money while meeting our requirements in terms of access to high-quality and granular data .
3.1 In carrying out any functions in respect of his skills and employment programmes, the Mayor will comply with the public sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.
3.2 Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the GLA must have ‘due regard’ of the need to:
• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation
• advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not
• foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
3.3 The evidence base for the Skills for Londoners (SfL) Strategy found that key groups with protected characteristics (including women; Black, Asian and minority ethnic Londoners; and disabled Londoners) are under represented in London’s labour market. Access to better LMI will help to produce work that would lead to the development of policies and initiatives to address this. Such work includes prioritising inclusive, good-quality education and transition opportunities for all, with targeted actions to improve access for protected and under represented groups.
4.1 The procurement of the contract will be managed via TfL. The contract with Lightcast will be held by the reseller.
4.2 Entering into a two-year agreement with Lightcast affords the GLA certainty in accessing key LMI. It also provides value for money, as Lightcast offers a more competitive rate for two years of subscription than one year.
Risks and issues
4.3 Continued access to online job-postings data will ensure that GLA officers maintain an uninterrupted and up-to-date understanding of trends in London’s labour market. By maintaining this subscription, officers can leverage new and updated analyses and outputs. This maximises the value of the data for informed decision-making and effective information-sharing.
4.4 Following the end of the SAP funding in 2022-23, it was agreed that the cost of the subscription would be funded equally by the Skills and Employment Unit and the City Intelligence Unit (CIU).
Links to Mayoral Strategies and priorities
4.5 The continued access to online job-postings data will help inform and support the development of employment and skills policy and programmes in London. The SfL Strategy sets out the need to improve London’s skills system across several areas – particularly the Adult Education Budget, which has been delegated to the Mayoralty since 2019. It will also help skills providers understand and find timely, granular and local LMI, as highlighted in the Skills Roadmap for London.
4.6 There are no conflicts of interest to declare from those involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision.
5.1 Approval is sought for allocating total expenditure of £61,000, plus a 1-3 per cent reseller fee (making a total of £62,830), towards the Lightcast online job-postings data subscription renewal for two years (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026).
5.2 The cost will be shared equally between the CIU and the Skills and Employment Unit (£30,500 each, plus the 1-3 per cent reseller fee, making a total of £31,415 each).
6.1 The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Executive Director of Strategy and Communications concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further – or that are facilitative of, or conductive or incidental to – the promotion of skills development, job creation and economic development in Greater London.
6.2 In implementing the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought, officers should comply with the GLA’s related statutory duties to:
• pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people
• consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom
• consult with appropriate bodies.
6.3 In taking the decisions requested, the Executive Director of Strategy and Communications must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 – namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; and to advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment) and persons who do not. To this end, the Executive Director of Strategy and Communications should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.
6.4 All procurements of works, services and supplies required must be procured in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code (the Code); and, where the value exceeds £150,000, the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (the Regulations). As set out in section 2, above, officers have liaised with TfL’s procurement and supply chain team to determine the detail of the procurement strategy to be adopted in accordance with the Code. Officers must ensure that appropriate contractual documentation is put in place, and executed by the chosen supplier and the GLA, before the commencement of the attendant services.
7.1 Upon receiving approval, GLA officers will take forward the necessary contractual arrangements to formalise our subscription with the reseller, who will hold the contract with Lightcast.
Signed decision document
DD2701 Provision of online job postings data 2024-26