CITY OF LONDON CORPORATION – WRITTEN EVIDENCE (YUN0058)

Youth Unemployment Committee inquiry

Submitted by the Office of the City Remembrancer

Summary

The commitment to skills development to support young people move into and stay in employment is a central feature of the City of London Corporation’s policy priorities. This briefing sets out the various City Corporation workstreams to support young people in employment.

The City Corporation recognises the importance of “fusion skills”: the competencies and tools which are required to flourish and thrive in learning and work environments in the 21st Century. Fusion skills are developed in curricular and extracurricular activities in schools, through cultural engagement, and through the world of work. Fusion skills should be systematically developed over a learners’ learning pathway through school and employment so that they are equipped to meet the demands of the rapidly changing world of work.

Employer organisations can play a crucial role in supporting young people to have experiences of the world of work at all stages of education (from primary years up to 19+) so that they can envisage their futures, develop aspirations, and make informed decisions along the way. The City Corporation’s London Careers Festival has proven that many employer organisations are willing to offer experiences and many young people do find these experiences inspiring, however there is more work to be done nationally to ensure that work-related learning is sequential and continuous and accessed by all young people.

There is an essential requirement to connect intelligence on the demands of the labour market with the provision of careers information, advice and guidance. This is vital to ensuring that the aspirations of young people in the labour market match the rapidly changing jobs of the future. This should include a high quality technical and vocational offer which allows young people to develop their skills and harness their talents across a broad range of post-16 education offers.

There is also a requirement to use intelligence effectively to target resources and interventions at young people most in need of support. This includes young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and young people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Relatedly, all work-related learning provision should not ignore the crucial importance of holistic support which include pastoral and wellbeing support. Some young people entering employment will require additional support and this should be a consistent offer with apprenticeships, traineeships and work experience.

There is a pivotal role which common-purpose networks and communities of practice can play in developing shared approaches to skills provision for young people. The City’s Livery Skills Initiative, the City Corporation itself, and Culture Mile Learning initiative are all examples of networks which can pool resources, share best practice, and work on shared projects which connect learning and the world of work.

Support into employment does not stop at the point of access. There is a need for all people to learn, re-learn and to learn again and this is likely to characterise all aspects of our lives. A commitment to lifelong learning and continued professional development is therefore necessary to sustain employment levels, respond to labour market demands, and address disadvantage in the learning and work system.

Fusion Skills

The City of London Corporation advocates the promotion of “fusion skills”. The 21st Century is characterised by fusion. There are fusions of industries, fusions of cultures, and fusions of identities. This approach can be demonstrated by considering a website as a series of codes, a creative work of art as well as an exciting user experience. Concepts such as art can be contained in both a gallery and on a mobile phone. To live, work and study today is to navigate through and around these fusions and the myriad of possibilities that they bring.

Fusion skills are the competencies, characteristics and tools which individuals need to flourish in this 21st Century fusion environment. They are as necessary for school-age children as they are for working-age adults. The City Corporation has identified a number of fusion skills, set out below, based on research with schools, businesses and cultural venues, all sectors where Fusion Skills are required and developed.

Oral communication/presentation skills
Collaboration and teamwork
Initiative
Problem solving
Organisational skills (planning, time management, deadlines, prioritisation, multi-tasking)
Adaptability/flexibility
Written communication
Independent working/autonomy
Critical thinking
Resilience
Creativity
Analysis and evaluation

Despite the ubiquitous and increasing relevance of Fusion Skills, they are continually underrepresented in national, local and organisational policies and practices which means many individuals are being left behind. Since 2018, the City of London Corporation has been championing recognition and action related to Fusion Skills. In 2019, the City Corporation launched its first international Fusion Cities meeting which convened individuals and organisation from cities across the world to showcase effective practice in the promotion and development of Fusion Skills. These cities were spotlighted for their approaches to bringing together education, culture and business sectors to produce initiatives which develop Fusion Skills for citizens in those local areas.

The City Corporation’s “Fusion Report Two”, published following the 2020 Fusion Cities 2 meeting, reflected on the importance of fusion skills for employers and employees.[1] The pandemic necessitated a near immediate pivot to new ways of working and learning, a change which has amplified existing problems and increased inequalities, but it has also revealed a desire for more rapid change. The report notes that there have been skills shortages in particular areas and at the same time, unemployment amongst certain groups has increased rapidly, with companies in the UK spending £1.6 billion more per year trying to fill skill gaps. Given that the longer a person remains without work, is under-deployed, or is unable to engage in learning, the growth in the skills gap widens.

The report argues that now and into the future we are likely to have three generations of people still working and requiring fusion skills. Digital access, lifelong learning and the spirit of cooperation and sharing are likely to be the drivers of the future. In summary, there is a growing recognition that we need to do things differently and have better approaches to address changes affecting our health, working, environment, cities, and wellbeing. The City of London Corporation is keen to address this shortage and collectively define the skills needed for the future in the same way as the Livery Companies and Guilds of the City of London historically developed and redefined the skills over centuries that underpinned the British economy.

The report makes recommendations on how fusion skills need to be developed to support the labour market, with a strong focus on Enterprisability (the combination of essential work ready skills, the fusion skills and high levels of entrepreneurial behaviours, ethics, and sustainability; Digital skills (a comprehensive set of technical, cognitive, metacognitive and socio-emotional competencies); and Leadership development.

The City Corporation has commissioned the development of a new website called ‘Find Fusion’ which will be connect schools, businesses, cultural organisations and training providers for the mutual benefit of sharing their learning opportunities in a one-stop-shop of ‘Fusion’ learning opportunities.[2] Find Fusion will enable schools and learners to find resources, events, training and projects which are relevant to them and for partner organisations to list, promote, amplify and share their offers. Find Fusion will also connect, and curate offers around themes such as learner type, age group, curriculum area and Fusion Skills. Find Fusion is an important next step in the partnership working on the promotion and development of Fusion Skills, enabling sharing between education, cultural and business sectors.

Culture Mile Learning

Culture Mile Learning is a City Corporation initiative linked to the Culture Mile project based in the north west of the City which brings together a diverse range of cultural, heritage and arts organisations from across London to work on an unprecedented scale to offer world-class learning experiences.[3] The partnership focuses on developing fusion skills with a focus on social mobility.

Culture Mile Learning responded to the pandemic by replacing its Work Experience Programme with an Online Mentoring Programme, which has been found to be a an example of a project which is not resource intensive but can dramatically transform how young people consider their futures and think about their careers. The first mentoring cohort consisted of young people from Islington, who were either about to leave the care system or came from New River College, a secondary Pupil Referral Unit. Culture Mile Learning worked with teachers and care workers to explore and understand the group’s interests and career goals, targeting young people who had shown a strong interest in working in the cultural or creative sectors. Culture Mile Learning report that 75% of young people taking part completed all three mentoring sessions and that 100% of young people agreed that they now have more understanding of the sector that they are interested in.

In addition to the Online Mentoring Programme, Culture Mile Learning runs a number of other initiatives including the Fusion Prize, a new competition with a £50,000 prize fund to find innovative ways to upskill future generations, empowering them to meet the demands of today’s employers, as well as its School Visits Fund, allowing schools and youth groups to apply for up to £600 towards the cost of a visit to a wide variety of cultural venues in the City of London and beyond.

London Careers Festival

The London Careers Festival (LCF) is a flagship City Corporation project, taking the form of an annual event which seeks to connect pupils (primary, secondary and post-16) with the world of work. In 2020, LCF ran virtually from Monday 29 June – Friday 3 July 2020 and offered schools and pupils the opportunity to engage with employers via live webinars and online based resources. Over 2,800 bookings were made by schools for live webinars delivered by over 30 partner organisations.

This year, LCF 2021 is offering multiple sessions to primary and secondary pupils who may need additional support to engage with employers and actively engage in planning their career journeys. The sessions will enable pupils to ask questions and learn about the world of work in a safe and supported manner. To ensure that the sessions are engaging and meets a wide range of physical and neurological needs, the LCF team are working in close partnership with ELSA Education, an organisation who have extensive experience of engaging pupils with severe physical and learning needs into the world of work. The team will ensure that they are working closely with SEND schools, PRU’s and other relevant networks to engage pupils and identify their needs in advance to ensure that they are able to engage in the session effectively. In addition to ensuring that prior preparation is in place, the team will also ensure that these LCF sessions adopt specific techniques including giving pupils additional time to ask questions, sufficient time to respond to tasks/activities, use ‘closed’ instead of ‘open’ questions (which particularly suit those who may be dyslexic, for example) and sharing a session overview in advance so pupils can prepare in advance.

Events such as LCF play an important role in connecting students with the world of work and assessment of the 2019 LCF shows that overall, pupils had positive experiences and the Festival provided an opportunity to be inspired and think about potential new jobs. 87% of young people said LCF 2019 helped them to think about their future, and 77% noted that LCF helped them to think about their skills.

Skills Forum

The City of London Corporation has one maintained primary school and ten sponsored academies as part of the City of London Academies Trust. It is also the proprietor of three independent schools. In its pursuit of educational excellence, the City Corporation has drawn these schools together, collectively known as 'the City of London Family of Schools'. Collectively, the City Corporation, the Family of Schools, and cultural and business partners in the City of London and beyond, deliver a shared vision to prepare people to flourish in the rapidly changing world through exceptional education, cultural and creative learning and skills which link to the world of work.

The Skills Forum is one example of collaborative work within the City Corporation’s Family of Schools. The termly Skills Forum is comprised of one member of staff and one governor from each school. The forum explores and gives feedback on skills and career-related learning for pupils with SEND and discusses upcoming skills and careers related opportunities for pupils including apprenticeship opportunities within the City of London Corporation, London Careers Festival, online mentoring opportunity with Culture Mile Learning, and higher education exploration events organised directly by City of London School for Girls.

Each Skills Forum also facilitates one-to-two partner organisations to host and/or speak to members about opportunities relating to both pupils and teachers that support their skills and careers programme. Previous host organisations include Structural Learning (who enable educators to get the best out of their pupils by developing tools and frameworks that gets everyone thinking for themselves), and PwC who presented their Digital Fitness App accessible to both teachers and pupils.

Financial and Professional Services and Cultural and Creative Industries

In the financial year to March 2020, the Financial and Professional Services (FPS) sector contributed £75.6bn in tax revenue, representing more than 10% of total UK Government tax receipts. The City of London is the FPS centre of the UK and as such, the City Corporation commits to ensuring its longevity as a global hub for innovation in these sectors.

In 2019, the City Corporation, along with eight participating financial services organisations, funded research by The Bridge Group on career progression and job performance in the FPS sector, focusing on social mobility and diversity of the workforce in terms of socioeconomic background. The research found that employees from lower socioeconomic backgrounds take longer to progress through grades, despite finding no statistical evidence to link this with job performance, and diversity is lacking at junior levels, becoming more acute at senior levels. The research calls for a greater focus on ‘equity of progression’ and socio-economic diversity at senior levels, through: cross-sector collaboration (building on client relationships); increased measurement of workforce data to tackle inequalities; accountable leadership; and a commitment to fixing processes not people.[4]

The City Corporation is also looking to improve diversity, skills development and access to talent in the cultural and creative industries. The City Corporation, along with Culture Mile, are conducting research project to identify the professional skills needs of the sector in and around the City of London (with a particular focus on Culture Mile) that can be met through mutual skills and knowledge exchange between organisations and with educators. The research will identify the potential skills offer of partners and plan a strategy to match skills and employer needs so that intelligence on labour market demand informs skills development, with a focus on supporting diversity and tackling disadvantage.

There is a role for organisations in all sectors to promote diversity and actively tackle inequality in the workplace. These are necessary steps towards supporting young people from disadvantaged background to access employment across a range of sectors and progress through their careers.

Livery Skills Initiative

The City Corporation works closely with Livery Companies of the City of London in the skills policy area. The liveries play a notable role in this sphere, and include those having the experience and the raison d'être to align to shape the skills future and to drive positive change. The Livery Skills Initiative is an example of how networks can drive shared programmes which are greater than the sum of their parts. The aims of the Initiative are focused on: (1) Creating a shared understanding across the Livery of what is already out there; (2) Helping the wider world of education and training understand what the Livery can offer; (3) Bridging the gap between school and the world of work: overcoming disadvantage, building confidence, coaching in life skills, explain career choices, provide tasters/work experience; (4) Improving the supply and accessibility of skills training; and (5)support for colleges/providers and address challenges in the systems.

An event was held on the 21 April 2021 to discuss findings of a survey sent to all Liveries and Guilds regarding their skills provision.[5] With a 97% response rate, the survey showed the significant contribution the liveries are already making. For example, 76% of liveries spend over £10K per year on skills development with 19% of liveries spending more than £100K per year supporting skills. The estimated value of expenditure on skills development by the liveries is more than £7.9 million annually. The Livery Companies have more than 3,562 strong and regular links with business. Activities provided by Liveries and Guilds include financial grants to individuals or programmes, formal courses, training and/apprenticeships as well as informal mentoring, advice and support.

Following the meeting held on 21 April 2021, there has been strong support to undertake a collaborative programme of activities aimed at driving employment support for young people. All the Livery Companies, Guilds, City & Guilds, The Livery Committee, and the City of London Corporation are determining agreed ways of collaboratively boosting skills. A further survey has been distributed to all Liveries to agree priorities for action and to gather existing activities that could be amplified to reach more people. The enthusiasm, desire, and urgency to do more was very clear in the comments and suggestions coming through from all attendees. The proposals include establishing a joined-up and holistic information exchange able to provide details about training possibilities, support small businesses to access current schemes and maximise influence in the skills agenda.

City Bridge Trust Support

The City Corporation supports young people into work through its charity funder, the City Bridge Trust which distributes grants throughout London. These include:

to the Blind in Business Charitable Trust to support blind and visually impaired Londoners towards graduate employment and working directly with employers to raise their confidence in employing those with little or no sight. [6]
to the Urban Ranger project in Merton to give 10 to 21-year-olds the chance to take part in activities such as creating wildlife habitats and community orchards, installing ponds and managing native woodlands, allowing them to develop their skills and gain qualifications. [7]
to the Albert Kennedy Trust in helping prevent young LGBTQ people who have become homeless in London from becoming homeless again by improving their skills to find and sustain housing, education, employment or training.[8]
to Beyond Autism with their work to maximise the participation in the workforce of young people with multiple and complex needs on the autism spectrum.[9]

17th May 2021