A report that showcases the work being carried out in West London to align skills provision with employers’ needs in order to increase career opportunities across the region has been launched today, 5 September, 2024.
The West London Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) Progress Report summarises the work that has been undertaken since the West London LSIP was launched in 2023, including new training and education initiatives that are creating more jobs across the region in priority sectors that make up more than half of employment in West London: Creative Industry roles; Health and Social care; Hospitality; Manufacturing; Retail, and Transport and Logistics.
West London LSIP successes in these areas identified in the progress report include a Youth Careers Summit in November 2023, the launch of the West London Retail Skills Hub in June 2024, and a large-scale one-day Film and TV skills festival held in July 2024.
In 2021, the Department for Education (DfE) introduced local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) and a new local skills improvement fund (LSIF), to support people to develop the skills they need to get good jobs. LSIPs were established to provide an agreed set of actionable priorities that employers, providers and other stakeholders in a local area can get behind to drive change.
The West London annex to the Pan London LSIP is a result of collaborative work with employers, strategic partners and education and training providers. The plan sets out a clear articulation of employers’ skills needs, and the priority changes required in the local area to help ensure post-16 technical education and skills provision is more responsive and flexible to meeting local labour skills needs.
West London Business (WLB) as the Employer Representative Body, working in partnership with West London Alliance (WLA), is responsible for the West London LSIP progress report covering the seven boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow.
Andrew Dakers, Chief Executive of West London Business, explains:“In August 2023, the West London LSIP set out where skills and training needs weren’t being met, so that we could address these concerns to benefit employers, employees and the overall economy. This LSIP Progress Report sets out progress over the past 12 months. Fantastic collaborative work has continued in health, creative and green skills; and new work is starting in logistics, retail, hospitality and food & drink manufacturing. These are still early days in reshaping the local education & skills ecosystem, but partners are committed to making the necessary change happen.”
Speaking about the publication of the West London LSIP progress report, Minister for Skills, the Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern, said: “I welcome the publication of the Local Skills Improvement Plan Progress Report for West London. These reports set out progress made on meeting the skills needs of local employers. As well as being a valuable source of information for local skills deliverers, employers and stakeholders, the reports along with the LSIPs themselves, will provide important intelligence for the newly established Skills England.”
Cllr Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council and John Brennan, Non-Executive Director, Garden Studios, and Co-Chair of West London Skills and Employment Board, added: We are pleased to be publishing this progress report, one year after the initial publication of West London’s Local Skills Improvement Plan, to share the progress and impact made since then. Our investment in building long-term, sustainable relationships with skills system stakeholders has been key to the progress made so far, and we are committed to continuing to develop these relationships to improve outcomes for our businesses and residents.
This report demonstrates the breadth of work being undertaken through the LSIP process, from a Youth Careers Summit, to the launch of a physical Retail Skills Hub in Westfield – all focussed on the shared goal of better aligning local skills provision with employer need. We are working to ensure West London residents are equipped with the skills they need for good local jobs, and employers are able to recruit from a skilled local labour market. Aligning skills provision with employer need is essential to bring unemployment numbers down to pre-pandemic levels.
Tracy Aust, Principal, West Thames College and Chair of West London FE Principals Group, concludes: “The LSIP process has been welcomed by the FE sector in West London as an opportunity to reinvigorate relationships with local employers in priority sectors. The subsequent Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) has also presented a great opportunity for FE to invest in realigning provision with local business need.
We’ve worked hard to build relationships with businesses, engaging with many new employer voices to develop and shape advisory boards in the priority sectors of logistics, health and social care and food and drink manufacturing. These FE/employer advisory boards work to address the unique skills challenges in the sector with the aim of ensuring curriculum development is relevant for the workforce of today and the future. The creation of physical skills hubs for Retail and Logistics further supports residents to find and keep good local jobs in two of our sub-region’s most important sectors.
The excellent partnership working in West London has put us in a great position to continue to deliver on LSIP priorities and we look forward to leading the way on skills.”
To learn more about the West London LSIP, visit https://westlondon.com/west-london-lsip/
To download a copy of the West London LSIP https://westlondon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/WLALSIPProgressReportfinalJune2024.pdf
To register for the West London Youth Careers Summit 2024, visit https://westlondon.com/events/
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Photos 1 and 2 : West London LSIP successes identified in the progress report include the Youth Careers Summit in November 2023 and the launch of the West London Retail Skills Hub in June 2024.
Images courtesy of West London Business. For high resolution versions of the images, please click here.
About West London Business:
West London Business (WLB) ensures West London is a successful, inclusive, environment for responsible business. West London is the UK’s global gateway; a £73billion+ GVA economy underpinned by 120,000+ businesses. We are a business-led leadership forum, with members including Heathrow and Amazon Web Services (AWS), as well as key regional firms such as Fuller, Smith & Turner and Bigham’s. WLB has 15,000+ supporters and convenes 30+ events per annum, including the West London Business Awards.
Our members work together through WLB to raise West London’s global economic competitiveness and catalyse action for people and planet. Through our work we inform and influence the work of local, regional, and national government policymakers and promote inward investment.
To find out more, visit www.westlondon.com.
Media contact:
Fiona Anderson, GEC PR, 07931 382773