Mayor’s Green Skills Academy for Local London
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 (the hub lead for this project), 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.
Project Lead – Sonya Mallin
Sonya is the lead for the Mayor’s Green Skills Academy for Local London. She is experienced in leading strategic change through complex, high-performance projects and initiatives as a consultant specialising in skills, Further Education, stakeholder engagement and communications. Sonya is passionate about community development, getting the most from funding, and saving what’s left of our planet – working with integrity and humour.
Email: sonya.mallin@lsec.ac.uk
Green Skills Project Coordinator – Claire LoRusso
Claire is the operational face for the Mayor’s Green Skills Academy for Local London. She is passionate about sustainability with a Bachelor’s Degree in environmental science, and has experience leading events, programmes, and projects related to sustainability, students, and more. Claire leans on her prior experience in HR to keep humans at the centre of her interactions while overall driving us towards a sustainable future.
Email: claire.lorusso@lsec.ac.uk
