About the region
Key challenges
London has a high rate of worklessness, at almost 30%. This is higher than anywhere else in England and has significant social and economic consequences. A considerable number of Londoners lack basic skills, including functional literacy and numeracy, and over 600,000 adults have no qualifications at all.
The London Skills and Employment Board has developed the adult employment and skills strategy for London, ‘London’s Future’. A key objective is working with employers to help them provide more employment and skills opportunities, whilst also helping those who need it to acquire the necessary skills for improved job prospects.
The 2007–2013 ESF Programme in London aims to address some of these key challenges, with the government devolving strategic oversight to the Mayor. Working in partnership with the Skills Funding Agency, JCP and LDA, a Joint Action Plan is being developed to meet the challenge of the economic downturn, working in parallel with the Mayor’s Economic Recovery Action Plan.
Facts and figures
|
London | UK |
| Population |
7.5m |
60.5m |
| Productivity (GVA per hour worked) |
123.1 |
100 |
| Employment rate as % of working age population |
70.6 |
74.4 |
| Skills level of economically active adults qualified to Level 4 |
41.2 |
31.1 |
Source: National Statistics regional snapshot. Updated May 2008. Note: Regional snapshot tables and text are updated annually on a rolling basis; at any time they may not reflect the latest data available on the topic elsewhere on the National Statistics web site.
Regional priorities
London has the largest ESF allocation of all the English regions, worth in excess of £370 million over seven years.
London's Regional Framework focuses on the following priorities:
Priority 1
- Priority 1: Extending employment opportunities
Priority 2
- Priority 2: Creating a skilled and adaptable workforce.
In London, the Mayor provides strategic direction to ESF, and the London Development Agency has a role in managing the programme.
London’s co-financing organisations
London has five co-financing organisations (CFOs) that are responsible for match funding and delivering the ESF programme:
