In 2010/11, we will be:
- investing in London’s workforce
- attracting and influencing funding from other sources
- funding Londoners into employment and training programmes
- working with the Mayor, London’s boroughs, government and the private and third sectors.
The London Development Agency (LDA) wants Londoners to share in the capital’s success, helping them to get work, stay in work and improve their skills.
Employment in London
Employees in London are among the highest paid in the UK. In 2009, the median full-time weekly earnings in the capital were £627, significantly higher than in other regions, where they ranged from £436 in the North East to £514 in the South East (source: 2009 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings).
There are, however, longstanding barriers to growth and complex issues that hinder progress for Londoners. These include high living costs, fewer opportunities for people with low skills, specific skills shortages, high childcare costs, a lack of guidance for individuals, and language barriers.
As a result, London has one of the highest levels of unemployment in the UK. The capital’s unemployment rate of 8.8% (expressed as a percentage of all economically active people aged 16+) is significantly higher than the national average of 7.8% (source: Office for National Statistics, November 2009 to January 2010).
Supporting Londoners
The LDA is supporting Londoners to improve their skills and job prospects – especially with the long-term jobless and young people.
We have helped steer the strategy for the London Skills and Employment Board, so that the resources available through organisations such as the Learning and Skills Council are directed at tackling London’s specific skills problems.
We want to make the most of the opportunities presented by major investment projects such as the 2012 Olympics, Crossrail and the green agenda by linking local people to training and job opportunities, so that they are in a better position to get and stay in work.
We are also using money from the European Social Fund to provide job search, careers advice, basic skills and in-work support to help Londoners into jobs. This includes the roll-out of our Personal Best scheme – a flagship projects that helps the long-term unemployed get into work through skills gained from volunteering in the run up to the 2012 Games – to all London boroughs.
Investing in young people
Our investment in young people – through the Young Londoners Fund and other schemes and through our support for the Mayor’s Academies – will help prevent them joining the ranks of the long-term jobless and the number of 16- to 18-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training.
Childcare support
Our innovative Childcare Affordability Programme has helped 8,000 families back into the workplace by making it economically viable to take a job while young children need to be cared for – an approach now being copied by government across the rest of the country.