Let’s make sure London gets the skills it needs

Pablo Lloyd, CEO (Interim) of Capital City College Group (CCCG), recently joined a panel of experts at a forum organised by the Evening Standard and WorldSkills UK to identify the skills needed to boost the capital’s economy and ensure young people attain them. Here, he shares some of the many ways CCCG is helping all Londoners into education and employment.

I’m delighted that the Evening Standard has teamed up with WorldSkills UK to promote the extraordinary range of skills and qualifications available through London’s further education colleges.

Earlier this month, I was invited to speak at a forum as part of the Evening Standard’s Step Up campaign, which will include the capital’s first expo for teenagers at London Olympia from 30 June to 1 July.

At the forum, former Education Secretary Lord Blunkett hailed London as having the “most phenomenal opportunity” to lead a skills revolution across the UK.

Capital City College Group (CCCG) is the capital’s largest further education provider. We are committed to providing young people and adults, with a broad range of training and qualifications to boost the capital’s economy.

This was echoed in our recent Ofsted report, which rated CCCG as ‘Good’ for its education provision and ‘Strong’ in meeting skills needs – the highest possible rating.

At CCCG, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to remove barriers to education and support Londoners into education and employment.

Here are just some of the ways we are making sure London gets the skills it needs.

Mayor’s Skills Academies

CCCG secured funding from the Mayor’s Skills Academies programme to create four hubs focused on Creative, Digital, Green and Hospitality careers. This has enabled us to forge even more links with employers and community organisations to offer more courses and work placement opportunities to give people the skills for the capital’s most in-demand jobs.

01 Founders

01 Founders is a tuition-free coding school at our Regent’s Park Centre. The school was the first of its kind in the UK when it was launched in June 2021. It uses gamification technology to teach students coding skills at their own pace with support from their peers. More than 150 people have enrolled on the programme and a third have already gained employment.

Visionnaires 

Visionnaires provides entrepreneurs with skills, mentoring and support to set up their own business. More than 1,000 people have participated in the programme, which began within CCCG and is now run at 20 colleges across England. Many are now running profitable businesses from health foods to sustainable fashion. Visionnaires also runs entrepreneurial workshops for young people.

Outreach

At CCCG, we are continuously reaching out to the communities our colleges serve. In 2018 we began offering all our courses for up to Level 2 for free regardless of age or background as we know cost if one of the main barriers to education. We have also introduced free short maths courses to parents in schools as part of the Government’s Multiply programme to improve numeracy.

Investment 

We are continuously investing in education across our estate including the redevelopment of our Soho Centre into a new creative and digital training hub in the heart of London’s entertainment district. In addition, a new commercial hair and beauty salon is set to open at our Finsbury Park Centre, which will provide real-life work experience opportunities for students.

Find out more about our courses and apprenticeships and apply here.

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