Last week, Centre for London published the City Skills: Strengthening London’s Further Education Offer report. We were pleased to join the launch event of this report where we looked at recent developments in further education and recommendations for reform as London plans its way out of the coronavirus crisis.
The report discusses funding, the importance of skills and pathways for progression, and also explains the vital role that further education has to play in London.
Here are a few highlights of the report:
• Creating opportunities for young people: one in six Londoners aged between 20-24 is not in education, employment or training – and this share is as high as in the rest of England.1
• Tackling low pay: people without qualifications are at a significant disadvantage in the capital. Their pay is only three per cent higher than in the rest of country, compared to 24 per cent for Londoners with level 3 qualifications.
• Responding to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic: unemployment levels have been rising sharply over just a few months, and casual workers and young people looking to enter the labour market for the first time are likely to face higher barriers to employment in times of crisis.
• Adapting to automation: London’s economy is likely to be disrupted in coming years, with routine administrative and manual jobs replaced by growth in areas such as health, hospitality and sports, placing a premium on retraining and lifelong learning.
But London’s further education provision struggles to meet these challenges:
• Further education is underfunded, and participation has fallen as a result.
• Opportunities for progression between lower and higher-level learning are relatively rare.
• The further education sector struggles to respond to current and future skills needs.
Phil Chamberlain, Executive Director External Engagement at City Lit said: "We welcome last week’s report by Centre for London, here at City Lit we believe that everyone has right to learn and improve themselves. Adult education is now more crucial than ever – for economic and social reasons, but also individually for people’s health and wellbeing. Life is more stressful and can be isolated – in this new digital world – and adult education has the wonderful ability to give people opportunities to reskill, find their passion and interests to relieve stress."
"Since lockdown, we have made the transition from face-to-face teaching to online learning and we have been able to produce over 1,300 interactive online courses ranging from languages to creative writing, history, music and health & lifestyle courses. This effort now, will ensure City Lit has a key role in the recovery of London post-Covid19, by supporting those who need to re-skill; have mental health challenges; and offer a safe and stimulating environment. Something we have already stressed to the Mayor of London."
