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London Local Skills Improvement Plan

Businesses across all sectors in London are struggling to recruit people with the skills they need to grow.

At the same time, London has one of the highest unemployment rates in the UK with those from black and minority ethnic communities already more likely to be lower- skilled, out of work or living with in-work poverty. 1 in 5 Londoners are economically inactive – outside of the labour market. It is critical for business, educators and Government to work together to support all Londoners to develop the skills they need to access the jobs employers are trying to fill. 

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What is a Local Skills Improvement Plan, and how will it help London?

Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are an initiative funded by the Department for Education. The aim is for every English region to have an LSIP, and for them to play a key role in tackling skills shortages by bringing employers, educators and other key stakeholders together to create a blueprint for transforming the skills system to meet local needs. 

BusinessLDN is proud to be leading the Greater London LSIP in partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses London (FSB), London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), and Confederation of British Industry London (CBI), with the backing of the Mayor of London and London government. 

Together, we have created a data-driven plan for better matching post-16 training provision to employer skills demand and the needs of London’s economy. This will help employers meet their skills gaps, fill vacancies and ultimately get more Londoners into jobs.

The LSIP is an employer-led data rich exercise and in the first phase of work over the last year, we have drawn on quantitative and qualitative data from across all sectors in the capital, and brought together employers and providers to understand the skills needs and provisions to produce a final report setting out these key priorities.

The London Local Skills Improvement Plan

The London Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) sets out a blueprint for getting more Londoners into better, higher-paying jobs by better matching training provision to employer demand. 

The LSIP identifies the need to help employers navigate the complex and fragmented skills system. It also highlights four cross-cutting themes that should be prioritised to future-proof the capital’s jobs market: digital skills, green skills, transferable skills and labour market inclusion. Among it’s recommendations are launching a new one-stop-shop to support job-seekers, creating a London Recruitment and Skills Support Hub to help businesses navigate the fragmented skills landscape and steps to boost digital and green skills across the capital. 

The report outlines detailed recommendations to improve London’s skills system for employers, job-seekers and training providers, and includes action needed at the sub-regional level.

Find the report here or click the image to the left.

We have also shared the full report in a simple PDF version and the full 16 annexes to the report, including the LSIPs for London’s four sub-regions. Download them here.

How we developed the plan

Over the last year, we have: 

  • Talked to businesses about their skills needs and gaps, identifying priority sectors and themes, and seeking ideas for action.
  • Talked to providers, London government, employment service providers, policymakers and others to understand the profile of training provision and how the system might act as a barrier rather than an enabler.
  • Created an accessible evidence base of London’s labour market, both at the pan-London and sub-regional levels.
  • Identified opportunities along the way to make interventions that work to address employer skills gaps.
  • Identified specific barriers preventing Black and minoritised groups from participating more fully in the labour market and identifying solutions to boost inclusion.
  • Built a strong narrative for changing the skills landscape in London.
  • Submitted our draft priorities to the Department for Education in March 2023, and a final plan of action to the Secretary of State for Education on 31 May 2023.

At the London-wide level, BusinessLDN has produced a plan for the whole capital. We have identified several target sectors for the LSIP, aligned with the Mayor’s priorities: creative, tech, health and social care, hospitality, and construction. We have also focussed on labour market inclusion, digital, and green skills as cross-cutting themes.

BusinessLDN has also worked closely with London’s four sub-regional partnerships (SRPs) – groupings of London boroughs. Each SRP has produced an LSIP report for their local area based on their priorities under BusinessLDN’s oversight. 

BusinessLDN has also worked closely with the Greater London Authority, as our lead data partner on the LSIP.

NEXT STEPS: DELIVERING ON THE PLAN

Starting in the autumn, BusinessLDN’s focus moves to the next phase of the LSIP: delivering on the priorities set out in our LSIP. BusinessLDN will work to embed the LSIP in London, building support for it and the individual actions it contains by bringing together employers, providers, London government and others and policy makers. We will put a big focus on identifying and putting in place the best business/​educator partnership for driving up London’s advanced digital skills capability. Look out for more chances to get involved in our work shaping a better skills future for London.

Download our engagement plan for how you can get involved with the London LSIP

Upcoming LSIP Events

The development and implementation of London’s LSIP is an inclusive, public project. All London employers, training providers, third sector, and other stakeholders are invited to get involved and help shape the outcomes for a better future for our learners, workers and businesses.

Please register for our upcoming LSIP events. Places are limited and in high demand, so please register your interest early to avoid disappointment. See our full events list.

There are no upcoming LSIP events.

London LSIP Stakeholder Advisory Group

A Stakeholder Advisory Group, made up of business, education and London government leaders, will support the development of the LSIP, advising on strategy, priorities and approach. Members were selected following an open and public call for expressions of interest.

  • Chair: Debbie Akehurst, Chief Executive, Central District Alliance
  • Vice Chair: Paul Stephen, Principal & Chief Executive, Newham College
  • Asfa Sohail, Executive Principal and Chief Learning Officer, London South East Colleges
  • Dr Diana Beech, Chief Executive, London Higher
  • Zephaniah Chukwudum, Director: Local Government, Microsoft
  • Joe Dromey, Director, Central London Forward
  • Ibelema Emeh, Director, Setax Training & Consultancy
  • David Francis, Director, West London Alliance
  • Nicki Hay, Chair, AELP London
  • Dianna Neal, Strategic Lead: Enterprise, Economy & Skills, London Councils
  • Sue Pember, Policy Director, HOLEX
  • Stephanie Jarvis, Head of Strategy, Policy, and Relationships, Greater London Authority
  • Karen Redhead, CEO & Principal, West London College
  • Hannah Resnick, Project Manager, Transport for London
  • Callum Simpson, National Skills & Training Partnerships Manager, The Crown Estate
  • David Symons, Director of Sustainability & Climate Change, WSP
  • Mary Vine-Morris, London Area Director, Association of Colleges
  • Jane Wiest, Director, Initially London
  • Louise Wolsey, Group Chief Strategy Officer, London South East Colleges
  • Rikshita Khela, Chief People Officer, Vorboss
  • Laura Addison, Senior Program Manager EMEA, AWS re/​start, AWS
  • Michael Houlihan, Chief Operating Officer, Generation
  • Kate Gault, Deputy Head of UCL Careers, UCL
  • Clarissa Wheeler, Strategic Partnership Manager, Ascentis 

London LSIP latest news 

London LSIP and health & social care

There are over 30,000 vacancies in the health service in the capital, while social care also faces similar yet distinct challenges with labour shortages, pay and the reputation of the sector. In March, BusinessLDN brought NHS Trusts, employers, training providers and sector bodies together to discuss how to tackle these challenges.

Time for action on essential skills

Tom Ravenscroft, Founder & CEO at Skills Builder Partnership shares their work on skills and their Universal Framework, the collective answer to the question of what essential transferable skills are, how we can build them and how it is being built into national and local plans, including the London LSIP.

Seven priorities for green skills in London

In November 2023, BusinessLDN held an event in partnership with WSP on building an inclusive and green workforce. Discussing how to overcome challenges and kickstart a green skills revolution, David Symons, WSP Director, shares his reflections on the event.

London’s business groups unveil roadmap to tackle skills crisis

A plan to tackle skills shortages, address inequality and boost labour market inclusion in London has been published by the city’s leading business groups, following the biggest data deep dive on the issues the capital has ever seen. 

Further Information

Government guidance on LSIPs

Statutory Guidance on developing a Local Skills Improvement Plan from the Department for Education

Government list of designations for LSIPs

A policy paper from GOV​.UK setting out how LSIPs support the skills for jobs initiative.

LSIP Conflict of Interest Policy

Read our Conflict of Interest policy.

LSIP Register of Interests Policy

Read our Register of Interests policy.

LSIP Register of Conflict of Interests

Read our Register of Conflict of Interests.