Harnessing local collaboration to achieve a brighter future for employers and their workforces

In October 2023, the Local London Skills Network, led by London South East Colleges, successfully bid for £6.5m as part of the Government’s Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF).

With this grant, the Local London Skills Network has been working to more effectively respond to the needs of employers in its region, as detailed in its Local Skills Improvement Plan, to put learners in the best possible position to secure jobs in the green and digital sectors.

Green and digital skills represent an area of huge opportunity. In London alone, the green economy is valued at £48bn, while around one in five jobs in the capital exist in the digital sector, according to research from London Councils’ Building the Green Economy Action Plan, and the Digital Economy Council and Tech Nation.

With employers consistently reporting skills gaps within their workforces, it’s vital that employers and education providers operate a more joined-up approach to ensure the long-term health of the economy.

David Pierpoint, CEO at the Retrofit Academy, pointed out at a recent Local London event that: “Local London provides us with a really exciting opportunity to work with a group that covers such a huge population. If we’re to meet our ambitious 2050 Net Zero target, then we need to rapidly train about 400,000 new professionals into the retrofit sector. Local London’s offering provides a huge opportunity for employers to get involved and make a difference.”

Local London is made up of nine London boroughs, and involves most skills providers within these boroughs, including FE colleges,

Sixth Form colleges, higher education providers, and a number of London Borough adult education and independent training providers. It’s a truly collaborative partnership, and it’s enjoyed some great success to date.

For example, £3.6m of the fund has been allocated for delivering new green skills training facilities, including London’s first fully-funded windfarm operations training centre - now operational – as well as retrofit centres and low carbon training labs.

Recently, Local London hosted an event with Ravensbourne University London for its supplier and employer partners, to identify successes and areas for improvement since it received the LSIF grant. Attended by leaders from all the partner organisations, the event was a huge success and was a testament to the collaborative nature that underpins its work.

One of the most exciting discussions of the day was led by Glen Lambert, the Local London Green Project lead, on the topic of microcredentialing. An untapped area of opportunity for FE, microcredentials are mini courses that have been based around a particular learning outcome an employer has told us they need. They can be a standalone qualification or stacked to form part of a larger qualification which could be the equivalent to a HNC or HND.

Glen Lambert added: “Local London has already developed over 20 new microcredentials and a suite of new qualifications from Level 3 to Level 6. Alongside the facilities that exist within the Local London network, including a range of retrofit training centres and a windfarm operations centre, our microcredentials are giving learners and employers the agility they need to rapidly meet local need.”

In total, 50 new, flexible learning courses are being developed by Local London and accredited by OCN London. This innovative approach allows people to learn on their own terms, boosting the affordability and overall appeal of FE. It also empowers FE providers to adapt their offerings to better meet employer needs, which is a core goal for the Local London Skills Network.

Looking forward, Local London wants to continue to make investment work more intelligently and more efficiently, whilst ensuring employers and learners continue to be supported in navigating the skills landscape. If you’re an employer in NE or SE London, please get in touch with your local FE provider to explore what support is available to you in future-proofing the digital and green skills of your workforce.

For more information on the Local London Skills Improvement Fund, visit: Local London Green Jobs and Skills Partnership - High-quality Green Skills Training (locallondongreenskills.com)