What does a successful Employer Programme for London look like?
Do you want to have a say in investment plans for improving London’s skills?
How would you set up an effective careers advice system for the capital?
How do we produce graduates with the skills the London economy needs?
Mayor Ken Livingstone’s London Skills and Employment Board (LSEB), has launched a strategy aiming to tackle these issues and to meet the current and future skills needs of London’s employers.
The strategy is available for consultation and employers are encouraged to have their say before the public consultation ends on 21 January 2008, with the LSEB aiming to deliver a long-term strategy in early 2008.
Employers face tough competition for staff with the required skills and expertise in the London labour market. They increasingly need employees with higher skills levels, especially when you consider that 50% of jobs are likely to require degree level qualifications by 2020.
The LSEB (whose members are employers drawn from some of London’s key industries) is currently consulting on its proposals, and feedback is expected from a range of different employers. The proposals address the major skills gaps that many businesses face, and could have a major impact on how training is provided and funded in London. This will have an important role for Sector Skills Councils if the proposals get the green light.
Plans include an ambitious new Employer Programme for London employers (both private and public) which focuses on workforce development, local recruitment, and helping out-of-work Londoners back into work. The plan promotes the involvement of London employers with their Sector Skills Councils and works to align London’s key skills stakeholders: employers, government at all levels, and public sector agencies.
