New partnership between London business and public sector

17/10/2006

An initiative announced by the Mayor of London and Gordon Brown has set out a plan for businesses and the government to work in partnership to produce successful employees.

The ‘Employer Accord’ is an initiative in which businesses commit to making more entry-level opportunities available.

Businesses who sign up will commit to creating a certain number of positions each year for first-time job seekers or those needing experience.

In exchange, the public sector will pledge to make sure businesses have plenty of trained candidates ready to take on jobs in the future, including education programmes more tailor-made to the available job positions.

The initiative was born out of the London Employment and Skills Taskforce (LEST) for the 2012 Olympics. LEST was set up to maximise employment and skills opportunities arising from the games.

Employers Accord will provide a win-win framework in London, Ian Barlow, chair of the London Business Board explained.

It will benefit ‘both employers and the people who most need the work that they have to offer,’ Barlow added.

“This action plan will be a vital tool in maximising the potential for job creation, training and business growth as well as re-training and the development of new skills,” said Tessa Jowell, Olympics minister.

BT and Transport for London are among the first companies to have signed up to Employer Accord.