3 minute read
Focus on Croydon
Helping Croydon
residents and businesses grow and thrive
When I came into office as Croydon’s first elected Mayor,
I was clear that I wanted to restore pride in our borough – putting Croydon back on the map for the right reasons as a destination of choice to work, live, and visit.
A core part of this is supporting our local economy to thrive, bringing the right businesses and opportunities to Croydon. This can only work if underpinned with a strong local workforce that can meet these new opportunities. One of my priorities over the next year will be to make sure we upskill residents, providing them with education, training and access to job opportunities. Croydon has some amazing training providers, from our provider CALAT which helps people enter education as adults, to London South Bank University (LSBU) or Croydon College, and I want to work with these organisations to equip residents with the skills to move up in their careers, especially as the job world is fast changing. Looking to the future, we recently supported the establishment of the Innovation Centre at Electric House (LSBU) with £300,000 from the London Strategic Investment Pot. The Centre brings together local businesses to pool ideas and collaborate on research and development. We have a really active business network in Croydon and across the south-east, with some great forums and initiatives which the Council runs, such as the Croydon Employers & Skills Forum and Croydon Business Network. The Employers & Skills Forum in particular, promotes employment and training opportunities within our borough, helping businesses to expand and grow. We’re currently looking to keep maximising the impact of this forum and our work by seeking further funding. As a business owner myself, I know recruitment is not always easy and the council continues to work hard to match businesses with job candidates. Through the Croydon Works partnership, with Job Centre Plus, Croydon College and Croydon Council, we offer a free recruitment service to help residents and businesses find employment and training – helping 452 people into work and training this year alone. Another initiative, that local businesses aren’t always aware of is that the council can cover the training costs of any small or medium-sized business looking to take on an apprenticeship – helping to bring through our next generation of skilled workers. We have also recently had a massive vote of confidence from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) who have extended our flagship Work & Health and JET Programme for a further two years. We coordinate this programme through the South London Partnership and in Croydon alone 839 residents, who have the most difficulty accessing job opportunities, have entered the local workforce in recent years. As a large local employer itself, the council will also strive to lead by example. We are already signed up to the London Living Wage as a minimum for all employees and would encourage our suppliers and other employers to do the same. We are also committed to using the council’s spending power to buy and employ locally, encouraging local providers to join our supply chain whilst still ensuring value for money. For example, as part of our current procurement of a new housing repairs provider we have asked all bidding companies to explicitly demonstrate how they would create work and training opportunities for Croydon residents. As you can tell, there’s no shortage of activity going on at the moment to help both Croydon residents and businesses to thrive. Since taking up office, I have enjoyed meeting so many of our residents and local businesses in every corner of our borough, hearing their stories, aspirations and challenges. It is a privilege to serve as Croydon’s first Executive Mayor and I look forward to continuing to work together over the coming years as we keep growing and supporting our workforce, harnessing all that Croydon has to offer.
