Later this year BusinessLDN will return to the political party conferences – the first ones to be fully-fledged in-person conferences since 2019. The conferences – Labour in Liverpool and Conservatives in Birmingham – come at a crucial time for both parties, and for the country. Labour will look to set out the stall that they hope will get them to government, and the Conservatives will be hoping to put aside a bruising leadership contest and begin to push an agenda under their new Prime Minister, in an effort to show they can still be trusted to govern.
However, even more importantly, the party conferences come at a very challenging time for the UK economy. The cost of living crisis is set to bite even harder when the next set of energy bills are announced, and high inflation is hurting businesses and consumers. All these issues have come fresh off the back of the pandemic, with the capital particularly hit hard.
In London, unemployment in the pandemic rose to 7%, and the effects of repeated lockdowns were felt acutely by disadvantaged communities across the country. Now that we as a country are living with Covid and trying to return to normal, firms are struggling to recruit the right staff needed to grow their business. The cost of living crisis is also having a serious impact on budgets and salary demands.
Tackling the UK’s skills shortages
Tackling the UK’s skills shortages is an urgent requirement for the economy – one that if done right will help the UK grow sustainably out of the current fiscal challenges. That is why we are focusing on how the levelling up agenda can help to tackle the UK’s skills shortages. In doing this we are holding two political breakfast roundtables. These invitation-only events will bring together politicians, education providers and business leaders, and we are thrilled to have the support of Capital City College Group – London’s largest further education college group, who provide exceptional education and training for students and business clients alike.
There is a vital role that further education colleges can play in supporting levelling-up. Ensuring that people across the country can develop the skills needed to succeed can help boost poorer areas and disadvantaged communities and help people into good jobs. There is also a need to review the use of Apprenticeship Levy funds, and the recent changes to skills training and qualifications, and the impact they have on those looking to retrain.
The cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated the skills shortages that many firms were facing in the aftermath of the pandemic. Our roundtable discussions held in partnership with Capital City College Group will go some way to furthering solutions that politicians can take back to Westminster later this year.