London First‘s Employment and Skills Commission has launched its Skills Action Plan for London – an ambitious initiative to alleviate the struggles facing 76 percent of London’s businesses in finding candidates with the right skills. Left unchecked, that challenge could grow even more acute with increasing automation trends and the changing external context of Brexit.
The business campaigning group, which convenes and mobilises business leaders to tackle the capital’s key challenges, is making the case to government for apprenticeship levy reform. It is also planning to grow Skills London – the UK’s largest jobs and skills event – by creating an online interactive platform to help learners and parents better access the entry-level training and jobs opportunities.
For our part, Tetra Tech has a long-standing commitment to developing skills relevant to our service areas, which we have been proud to follow through on by offering apprenticeships and work placements to students.
Over recent years, we have also supported projects designed to give students an enhanced understanding of the need for integrated consultancy and engineering services in support of infrastructure projects.
Some schools where we have supported such projects include Pimilico Academy, Westminster City College, and more recently, Newham College of Further Education. We helped created a mock-tender scenario that challenges students to work in teams over six weeks to consider and price a multidisciplinary offer in support of a major infrastructure project. This includes a tender submission and subsequent tender interviews, which is intended to stimulate students appreciation of specific services, and how they integrate and develop their commercial awareness.
To learn more about London First, please visit their website.