News
Fit for the Future: Skills 4 Local London
Conference
The ‘Fit for the Future; Skills 4 Local London’
conference was jointly sponsored by the Local London partnership of 8 east London
borough councils, the London First business organisation and the Learning
Revolution Trust.
The aim of the conference was to build on previous work by
bringing together employers, local authorities and training providers to
identify priorities for a Skills Action Plan for the sub region and work
together to establish clear pathways to work in key sectors of the economy,
upskill local residents and meet the skills needs of businesses more effectively
in a constantly changing environment.
The five speakers at the conference were:
Martin Cumella - Chair, Learning Revolution Trust
Geoff Thompson - Chair of Governors, University of East London
Cllr Darren Rodwell - Leader of London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Chair of
Local London Skills and Employment Board
Steve Drury - Director of Rooff Ltd, Chair, London Region Construction
Training Group
Sharon Allen - Chief Executive, Skills For Care
Jules Pipe - Deputy Mayor of London, Planning, Regeneration and Skills
The speakers each brought their perspectives as a local
authority and Local London leader, a higher education leader, a business leader
in a key sector of the sub regional economy, the Chief Executive of a national
sector skills council for a growth sector and a London wide leader responsible
for skills development in the city. Some of the main points raised included;
- The challenges facing east London including a
rapidly changing labour market, the potential impact of Brexit on the supply of
talent and lower employment outcomes and rates of pay than elsewhere in the
city
- Opportunities for jobs growth in the ‘New
East’ London and the need to ensure that local people can compete for the high value
/ high tech jobs being created so that no one is left behind and businesses can
access the skills they need.
- The need to create clear pathways to jobs in
key employment sectors such as construction to make career opportunities more
accessible and help employers to attract and retain staff .
- The need to develop career pathways to
support in work progression in health and social care and other sectors, and to
ensure that employees can access learning opportunities throughout their working
lives.
- The devolution of adult skills funding to
London will help to ensure that funding is better focussed on achieving
outcomes for Londoners and London’s businesses. Further devolution is needed in
careers advice, unspent apprenticeship levy money; EU replacement funding and
other areas.
- Strong collaboration is needed between stakeholders,
including employers, local authorities and training providers to develop and
implement effective skills strategies at city and sub regional levels. Local
and regional expertise is an essential component of this. The vision for Local
London is for a place which is ambitious for its economy, aspirational for its residents
and courageous in its reforms.
