Frequently asked questions
- When was the Board set up and why?
- What does employer-led mean?
- Who is on the Board?
- What is the LSEB supposed to do?
- Does the LSEB have spending powers?
- How does the LSEB relate to the Mayor?
- How is the Board supported?
- How does the LSEB relate to the Learning and Skills Council?
- Will the LSEB be responsible for delivering skills in London?
- How will the LSEB make a difference to London and to Londoners?
When was the Board set up and why?
Following its review of the powers of the Mayor of London the Government invited the Mayor to appoint and chair The London Skills and Employment Board (LSEB). The Board first met in in December 2006. It is charged with providing leadership in improving adult skills and employment in London. In establishing the Board the Government was recognising London’s unique position in the UK – a global city with a high skills economy but a city where too many residents lack skills and are outside the labour market. A significant feature of this arrangement is that the Board is employer-led to ensure skills provision meet existing and future needs of London.
What does employer-led mean?
The majority of Board members hold key senior management positions within large commercial organisations or other organisations involved in employment and skills in London. All are keen to bring their experience to championing skills and employment in London. The Board’s work gives employers in London a new opportunity to ensure that training supports employers to have a workforce with the skills and qualifications they need to raise productivity while enabling individuals, whether currently within the workforce or not, to continue to develop their skills.
Who is on the Board?
Details of Board members are available on the Board Members page.
What is the LSEB supposed to do?
The LSEB is charged with producing a long-term skills and employment strategy for London, based on research and evidence, focusing on improving skills of all Londoners and on identifying ways of tackling worklessness. The Board’s ambition is to create the most successful and globally competitive labour market, that meets the current and future needs of both employers and Londoners, by:
- Supporting and promoting a thriving London economy
- Encouraging social and economic inclusion and cohesion
- Ensuring that London is able to attract, retain and train the highest quality talent
- Offering those not in work (especially those most in need) pathways to sustainable employment / careers
- Offering those in work the ability enhance their skills and capabilities, creating an "escalator effect" which meets the career aspirations of individual employees and the changing needs of London employers
The Board will monitor the implementation of its strategic priorities on an ongoing basis and in particular oversee the LSC’s skills budget for London to ensure the needs of Londoners are adequately addressed.
Does the LSEB have spending powers?
The Board will set the framework for the allocation of the London Learning & Skills Council’s (LSC) adult skills budget which amounts to £635m for 2009-10. In addition the strategy will influence the spending and priorities of other key agencies (such as Job Centre Plus and LDA) – totalling over £2bn on adult skills in London. The board will also look to work with London employers who invest in skills.
How does the LSEB relate to the Mayor?
The Mayor is the Chair of the LSEB and appoints Board members. With this employer-led Board, he will both influence and shape adult skills delivery in London by focussing on the needs of adults in the London labour market and those seeking to enter it.
How is the Board supported?
The Board is supported by the Secretariat. It manages and supports the Board’s work programme by commissioning reports and other services from partner agencies and other bodies. The Secretariat also provides direct support to the Vice Chair of the Board, who is leading on strategy development, and the Chairs of Committees. It leads on the Board’s communication and engagement strategy.
All the work of the Board and its Committees is co-ordinated through the Secretariat. This ensures that the direction set by the Vice Chair of the Board and the Chairs of the committees is adhered to and there is no duplication of effort.
How does the LSEB relate to the Learning and Skills Council?
The role of the Board will be to set priorities and determine the strategy for adult (post 19) skills training. The strategy will focus on the needs of adults in the labour market or seeking to enter it (including those on benefits), making a strong link between skills, employment and worklessness. The Strategy will determine the priorities of the LSC in this area and it will be required to allocate its budget in compliance with the strategy. The Board has also been asked to review the LSC’s draft annual plans for London.
Will the LSEB be responsible for delivering skills in London?
Operational responsibility for the delivery of education and training remains with providers, such as FE Colleges and private sector and voluntary sector contractors. The Board will formulate a strategy and annual plan for adult (post 19) skills training and employment in London which will guide and influence, as well as make recommendations to providers and relevant organisations across London. The Board will produce an annual report setting out progress on implementation of its strategy.
How will the LSEB make a difference to London and to Londoners?
For London to remain a leading world city, we must continue to improve our levels of productivity and knowledge. We must also address the capital’s high levels of worklessness, exclusion and poverty. To do this, we need to skill up employees and to support workless people into jobs.
Working with government, public agencies, colleges, training providers, employers and all Londoners, the Board will provide strategic leadership to ensure that London employers are able to freely recruit people at all levels with the right skills from within London’s population, and that all Londoners have the opportunity to obtain skills that lead to sustainable employment and to progression at work which realizes their full potential.