Questions to the Mayor of London – answered at on 22 November 2021.
In September, you announced a total package of £11m to help Londoners to gain qualifications and get jobs in the hospitality, digital, creative, green and health and social care sectors. How many Londoners are you expecting to support with this funding?
The funding announced relates to the Mayor’s Academies Programme which is designed to help address skills shortages in sectors that are key to London’s recovery (creative, digital, green, health, social care and hospitality) and support Londoners most affected by the pandemic into good work. It has a number of strands: hubs, which build partnerships between organisations such as employers and training providers; Adult Education Budget funding for employability focussed support resulting in employment; provider accreditation to recognise good quality training; bespoke support for excluded and underrepresented groups through the Workforce Integration Network; a communications campaign; and the possibility of capital funding, subject to availability.
Proposals from organisations looking to set up hubs are currently progressing through the approvals process, so it is not yet possible to quantify the number of Londoners who will be supported by the programme. This information will be subject to review during the pre-grant negotiations in Q4 2021/22.