Businesses in Ealing and across West London are now set to benefit from a Department for Education funded initiative that aims to help address the skills shortages that are preventing business growth in the area by helping local residents improve and match their skills to available jobs.
The new London Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) aims to tackle skills shortages and also address inequality and increase labour market inclusion in London.
Skills shortages across London is having a major impact on businesses. A recent survey of more than 1,000 London business leaders and HR managers found 77% were reporting open vacancies and of those 65% were struggling to fill them. While 57% cited a low number of suitable applicants with the required skills as the biggest challenge to recruitment.
West London Alliance and West London Business have now launched the West London Annex to the LSIP following consultation with West London employers, training providers and other stakeholders over the last year.
Both organisations say they are working with West London businesses in various industry sectors to implement the recommendations of the plan which has four key areas: supporting more residents into good jobs, building skills system capacity to deliver, pathways and collaborative infrastructure and aligning funding of provision with local need.
Andrew Dakers, chief executive of West London Business said: “West London Business has worked in partnership with West London Alliance to develop the West London annex to London’s Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP). The LSIP sets out how all our partners in further education, higher education and independent training providers, must work together to ensure that technical & vocational training better matches the needs of local employers. The West London findings are supported by evidence gathered from hundreds of employers and key sector trade bodies. The LSIP report’s recommendations particularly highlight the need for new initiatives to improve collaboration in three sectors: food manufacturing, retail & wholesale and transport & logistics.”
David Francis, director of West London Alliance added: “We are pleased to be publishing West London’s contribution to London’s Local Skills Improvement Plan. The report and annex are a clear basis for working together to deliver the skills that the West London economy needs. In carrying out this work, we have deepened the partnerships – between employers, skills providers and local government – which are vital to our shared goals of matching skills provision with employer demand. We look forward to building on this, continuing to work together to make West London a place where residents have the skills to access good local jobs and to progress and grow, and where employers can recruit from a skilled local labour force and increase their productivity.”
