Education Secretary states “World class city needs world class skills”

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London Mayor Ken Livingstone announced the appointment of Barry Francis to the London Skills and Employment Board earlier this week.

Mr Francis, Southern and Eastern Regional Manager with Unionlearn, the TUC’s work-based learning organisation, was appointed to “help tackle London-wide issues on skills and employment”.

He said: “With a quarter of the London workforce having problems with basic literacy skills and nearly half the workforce with the bare minimum of numeracy skills, there is a great deal of work to be done if we are to meet the challenges ahead in upskilling workers”.

“The London Skills and Employment Board is a real opportunity to address these challenges and I am delighted that I have been selected to be a member of the Board”.

Mr Livingstone added: “The new Board brings together a wealth of talent and expertise in the fields of business and education which will be vital to deliver world class training and skills in London. We need to work with London’s employers to ensure Londoners receive the training they need to get jobs. This will ensure all Londoners can benefit from and make a real contribution to the capital’s economic prosperity”.

And Education Secretary Alan Johnson commented on the launch of the Capital’s new Skills board: “The creation of the Skills and Employment Board under the Mayor’s leadership is a real step forward for London”.

“A world class city needs world class skills and we want employers to be centre stage securing the right skills for the economy. The Mayor will be a powerful champion for this and the strong employer representation on the Board will ensure we have a strategy to meet the Capital’s adult skills needs”.

He continued: “The important Further Education and Training Bill the Government introduced in Parliament last week sets out reforms to ensure providers become even more responsive to the needs of employers”.

“But employers must continue to work closely with Government if we are to meet the challenges Lord Leitch will set out in his Review of skills shortly”.

Vijay Pattni.

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