Who We Are
WE ARE A PARTNERSHIP OF 23 FURTHER, HIGHER AND ADULT EDUCATION PROVIDERS, 9 LOCAL AUTHORITIES, AND A PANEL OF LOCAL EMPLOYERS AND OTHER KEY STAKEHOLDERS. TOGETHER, WE AIM TO INFLUENCE AND SHAPE GREEN AND DIGITAL EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS PROVISION, BOTH NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.
We are part of the bigger Local London network, which represents nine London boroughs and is committed to catalysing growth across north east and south east London.
We want to drive job creation as the UK transitions to a greener and more digitised economy, and put ‘local’ at the heart of the devolution agenda for skills.
Our list of college, local authority and employer partners can be found here.
Our partnership is supported by £6.5 million from the Government’s Local Skills Improvement Fund, which was awarded to us in November 2023. This grant allows our area to respond to the priorities identified by employers in the Local Skills Improvement Plan for Local London.
This work is being further supported by the Greater London Authority’s Mayor’s Skills Academies Programme. This collaborates with 11 colleges, nine London boroughs and over 30 employers to help achieve the Mayor’s ambitious net-zero targets and improve the green and digital curriculum offer across the capital.
Our partnership was previously a recipient of the Department for Education’s Strategic Development Fund. This provided us with £2.4 million of investment to reshape teaching and training provision, and update training facilities in preparation for the rollout of the Local Skills Improvement Plan. A summary report of that project is available here.
In October 2020, the London Recovery Plan was published by the Mayor’s Office. This outlined provisions for restoring the city following COVID-19. Within it, some ambitions relating to green and digital skills were stated. The Mayor’s Academies Programme (MAP) was established within these plans, which aims to provide opportunities for Londoners to access good jobs and training.
In January 2022, the MAP hubs were born. The Mayor stated that “the metrics of success will include new employers engaged, learners participating in training and education relevant to the priority sectors, and Londoners progressing into employment, apprenticeships, or finding work placements in the priority sectors.” Local London serves the eastern area of London, including Enfield, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Newham, Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Greenwich, Bexley, and Bromley.
The project objectives of the Mayoral Academy are:
- To highlight routes into the sector
- To support Londoners into work
- To support underrepresented groups
- To raise the profile of the sector
In Local London, the MAP is a sub-regional project which collaborates across eight further education providers, nine London boroughs and 30+ employers in the Local London region to ensure the GLA has a central delivery mechanism to improve its Green offer.
The Mayoral Skills Academy for Local London is delighted to work with the following education providers: Barking & Dagenham College, Barnet Southgate College, Capel Manor College, London South East Colleges, New City College, Newham College, Shooters’ Hill Sixth Form College, and Waltham Forest College. The green provision is met through these colleges operating as a partnership to promote green skills opportunities. The training they offer in these skills will set learners aside from their peers as the job market continues to change and expand in line with Net Zero targets.
The Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) is a Department for Education initiative designed to help improve the skills of people according to regional demand, so they can better meet the needs of local employers. It provides funding for further education institutions to offer training and education in technical skills. This has the aim of providing people with jobs, and employers with workers equipped with the skills needed for industry, in a bid to fill skills gaps sustainably.
Local London is one of the partnerships using the LSIF to provide training opportunities, forging connections between employers, training providers, and local authorities.
For more information about the LSIF, and how it responds to the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), see the Government website.
