MD2846 Mayoral Academies Programme

1.1 The London Recovery Board has established the London Recovery Programme to restore confidence in the city, minimise the impact on communities, and build back better the city’s economy and society as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be achieved through the delivery of nine recovery missions, one of which is Good Work for All.

1.2 The Good Work for All mission aims to ‘support Londoners into good jobs with a focus on sectors key to London’s recovery’. There is a strong emphasis on Londoners who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and face structural inequalities.

1.3 The Good Work for All mission includes four project strands. One of them is the Mayoral Academies programme.

1.4 The Mayor’s 2021 manifesto pledged to establish ‘more sector specific skills academies in growth sectors, including the green economy, digital, tech, health and social care and creative industries […to] give young Londoners a competitive advantage in securing good jobs for them and London’s economy’.

1.5 In terms of governance, the Skills for Londoners (SfL) Recovery Task and Finish Group sits as a subordinate body to the SfL Board, and has overall oversight over the mission action plans and reports into the SfL Board and Business Partnership. The project also reports to the London Recovery Board, ensuring that activities and objectives align with the outcomes and cross-cutting principles of the Recovery Programme.

Strategic purpose

1.6 The overarching Good Work for All vision, approved by the London Recovery Board, is ‘establishing sector-specific London “Academies” to support Londoners to gain relevant skills and move into good work in (not exhaustive) digital; health, social care; green economy; and creative and cultural industries.’

1.7 For the purpose of the Mayoral Academies programme, ‘good work’ is defined as employment in a priority sector for a minimum of 16 hours per week that: is expected to last at least four weeks; pays at least the London Living Wage; does not involve the exploitative use of zero-hours contracts; and is part of a structured career development plan.

Sectoral focus

1.8 The sectors identified for the Mayoral Academies programme by the London Recovery Board (and subsequently in the Mayor’s 2021 manifesto) have significant vacancies and/or growth potential. They are stated as (but not limited to) green, creative, digital, and health and social care.

1.9 In light of the high vacancy rates in the hospitality sector as it reopens post-pandemic, the Mayor and the London Recovery Board have also agreed to include hospitality in the Academies programme, in addition to those sectors set out in the Good Work for All vision.

1.10 The six priority sectors identified face some or all the following challenges:

• high vacancy rates

• skills shortages

• skills provision that does not consistently meet employer need, or is not accessible

• lack of workforce diversity/barriers to entry for specific groups

• ‘image’ of the sector or lack of awareness among potential applicants.

Further decisions

1.11 It is proposed that future Mayoral Academies programme-level decisions within the scope of this decision would be delegated to the Executive Director for Communities and Skills – aside from any decisions relating to the AEB spend, which are subject to separate processes as set out in MD2736 – Changes to AEB Decision-Making and summarised below.

1.12 In line with the provisions set out in MD2736, further decisions related to the AEB spend that fall within the scope of this MD form can be made by the Mayor at future AEB Mayoral Board meetings, as long as they either: are not matters reserved to the MD form process according to the rules in the Mayoral decision making protocol and AEB governance documentation; or do not require amendments to any recommendations made in this MD, which would be automatically referred to an MD form and submitted through the usual processes once the changes had been made. Where proposed changes result in fundamental changes to the decisions agreed in this form, these will be brought back for approval under an MD form.

1.13 The decisions set out in this form were all considered by the AEB Mayoral Board on 8 July 2021.

2.1 The objectives of the Mayoral Academies programme are:

• to help fill vacancies in priority sectors with skilled people

• to raise the profile of these sectors for potential applicants

• to get Londoners into good work (direct employment, apprenticeships, traineeships or self-employment/freelance work) in the sectors identified

• to support the further education (FE) sector to deliver industry relevant provision

• to gain insights into the priority sectors and to support specific groups of Londoners, including young black men, to overcome barriers to entry into the sectors identified

• to support employers and FE colleges to address structural barriers to engagement, recruitment, retention and progression for under-represented groups in their industry/workforce, as outlined in the Workforce Integration Network (WIN) toolkit.

2.2 In line with the above objectives, and building on the learning of the MCA programme to address skill gaps facing the construction sector (thereby creating more opportunities for Londoners to benefit from the available work opportunities in the construction sector), the programme will take the following form:

• hubs – revenue funding to support the development of partnerships between employers, training providers and others

• a Quality Mark awarded by the GLA to training providers who meet certain criteria

• job outcome payments to training providers to fund additional activity to support learners into employment

• bespoke support for excluded groups, to help those facing structural barriers to accessing employment

• a communications campaign to champion adult education to London learners and employers

• capital funding – supporting the FE sector to deliver effective and relevant provision (subject to funding availability).

2.3 These strands represent elements within an overarching programme – but the needs for each sector differ, and each element will only be applied for a specific sector if impactful.

Spending proposals

2.4 The budget allocated for the Mayoral Academies is £4.789m across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 financial years. There is an expectation that hub partners will also provide either match-funding or in kind support to maximise the impact of the programme.

2.5 An additional £280k underspend from the MCA programme (originally approved under MD2213 and subsequent funding approved under DD2285) is requested to be reallocated to the new Mayoral Academies programme in order to maximise the number of hubs to be funded. It has been included in the hub budget line of the table below.

2.6 Subject to approvals, this brings the total programme budget to £5.039m. Below is a breakdown of the funds for the spending proposals. Further funding will be sought for the programme for 2022-23 and future years as appropriate; all funding is subject to the annual budget-setting process.

2.7 In addition, approval is sought for the annual allocation of £2m AEB funding for the purpose of providing payments to providers for the delivery of job outcomes linked to Mayoral Academies hubs over three academic years.

Hubs (£3.08m)

2.8 In keeping with the programme objectives and building on the experience of the MCA, hub coordination, facilitated through a number of revenue-funded sectoral-focused partnerships, is proposed as a central element of the Academies programme.

2.9 Hubs encourage partnership-working by bringing organisations together through improved coordination. Core elements of coordination will include convening new partnerships, and further embedding or expanding those that exist; brokering new relationships and building on existing ones; and the generation of new partnership activities. In addition to this, hubs are well positioned to form networks and facilitate best practice sharing.

2.11 Hub partnerships are expected to include training providers, as well as employers/trade associations, local authorities and other supporting organisations, depending on the nature of each sector. Hubs should also partner with existing statutory and non-statutory employment support services, such as borough or employer brokerages, ‘to help fill vacancies in the sector with skilled people’. There will be an emphasis on provision being better designed to support employer needs and new activities arising from the partnerships, such as new or more tailored courses, new employer initiatives such as new work placement opportunities, bespoke projects or Continuing Professional Development opportunities for staff, as well as additional support tailored to under-represented groups and those most impacted by the pandemic.

2.12 Training delivered as part of the hubs will be funded from other sources including, although not exclusively: the AEB; funding for traineeships and apprenticeships; and Section 106 funding.

2.13 Hub employer partners will engage with appropriate bespoke support to help them recruit and access excluded groups (known as WIN-led activity ) including signing employers up to toolkit actions, taking part in design labs where appropriate, and joining a community of practice to share learning across industries. The hubs will also utilise learning and tools developed under this strand to make their employment support activities more successful at engaging and supporting under-represented groups.

2.14 The estimated cost per hub, based on two-year delivery and informed by MCA benchmarking, is c.£250k. This would include staffing to deliver coordination activities and partnership building, administrative and marketing support, and funding to support the cost of output and outcome tracking. Hub funding will be issued pro rata over the delivery period.

2.15 Proposed primary impact measures/outcomes include:

• Londoners with the right skills entering employment (direct employment, apprenticeships, traineeships or self employment/freelance) as a direct result of new hub activity

• under-represented groups or those most impacted by the pandemic are supported into employment (group percentage targets relevant to sectoral challenges to be determined).

2.16 A flexible approach to secondary outputs will allow prospective hubs to identify activities and related outputs they deliver, providing they serve to deliver on the primary impact measure/outcome. Secondary outputs could include targets such as:

• the number of new employers engaged as a result of hub coordination

• the number of Londoners supported into work experience placements (in priority sectors)

• the number of Londoners participating in training and education in identified key sectors (linking to recovery priority sectors)

• the number of businesses that undertake work to improve their organisation’s diversity and inclusion through use of WIN tools.

2.17 A phased approach for hubs funding is proposed to ensure that the needs for individual sectors is addressed with a first round launching in July 2021 in the first instance.

Hub – AEB job outcomes funding (up to £6m)

2.18 With the strategic intent and focus on supporting Londoners into good jobs in the priority sectors, and in the context of a limited budget to fund coordination activities, the use of the AEB to fund direct activities that support delivery of job outcomes has been explored. It is proposed that AEB funding is used in conjunction with core Mayoral Academies funding to provide payments to providers for the delivery of activities that support Londoners into employment.

2.19 Specifically, it is proposed that a fixed payment of £400 is paid to eligible AEB providers per reported job outcome linked to hub activity, within five months of the completion of a learner’s programme of learning (specifically the completion of their last learning aim).

2.20 Eligible AEB providers would be those who are in receipt of an AEB Adult Skills grant, or AEB Procured or AEB Good Work for All funding, and who are confirmed as members of a hub partnership either at the point of the award of hub funding or subsequently with the GLA’s approval. This additional funding will support providers to offer more holistic and targeted employability, and wraparound support for learners focusing on employment opportunities in the priority sectors.

2.21 Job-outcome funding will be awarded to eligible providers through the same competitive bidding process that will also award grant funding to the ‘hub lead organisation’ for the establishment of hubs under the Mayoral Academies programme. The hub lead organisation will provide details of eligible AEB providers within the proposed hub and their respective areas of focus, to enable the provider job outcome grant to be awarded.

2.22 The £2m per academic year (from 2021-22 to 2023-24) will be subject to confirmation of the annual AEB allocation from the Department for Education (DfE). It will be set aside from the main grant and procured allocations to make the payments set out in this decision. Payments to AEB providers would need to be covered by the award of a new funding agreement, or a variation of the current funding agreement. Based on the approach used for existing education and training grant funding programmes it is understood the award and payments of grant funding proposed here will not attract VAT.

2.23 The job-outcome funding would be payable when eligible AEB providers report the delivery of a job outcome on the Individualised Learner Record (within five months of completion of a programme of learning) via a new learning aim for ‘Academy Hub Job Outcome’.

2.24 A job outcome would be defined as the entry into a job, by a job learner who is not in employment upon enrolment to an adult skills (Funding model 35) AEB learning aim, where said job:

• relates to a priority sector, is a minimum of 16 hours per week and is expected to last at least four consecutive weeks

• pays at least the London Living Wage and does not involve the use of zero-hours contracts.

2.25 The provider would need to self-certify that required evidence had been provided, and that it meets the requirements of AEB job-outcome funding. Sample checking will take place through the GLA’s usual audit process.

2.26 Activities expected to be delivered with the support of the proposed funding include, but are not limited to:

• CV and interview workshops

• regular work clubs to support job applications and interview preparations

• job brokerage activity to signpost and match to job vacancies

• partnership working with employers to facilitate recruitment processes

• bespoke employability support for under-represented Londoners

• in-work support to assist with the transition into employment.

Quality Mark (£75k)

2.27 Building on best practice and learning from the MCA Quality Mark, the Academies Quality Mark will aim to incentivise accessible, industry-relevant provision that gets people into jobs. It will also raise the profile of good provision to employers and Londoners looking for good work.

2.28 A simple programme-wide Quality Mark is proposed to highlight providers that: support learners into good work; deliver provision that meets employer need; and are accessible to all Londoners.

2.29 Officers will work to avoid issues of duplication, and maximise opportunities to link in with and promote existing quality accreditations.

2.30 Experience from the MCA programme has been that processes associated with the Quality Mark can present a significant administrative burden. It is therefore recommended that the accreditation and annual review of the Quality Mark are commissioned externally.

2.31 This activity will be prioritised once the Hub funding bidding process is under way. It is therefore proposed that the Quality Mark is launched towards the end of the 2021 calendar year.

Bespoke support for excluded groups (£670k)

2.32 Initial research indicates that the sectors in scope for the Academies programme have workforces that lack diversity, particularly the green, creative and digital sectors. In growth sectors that are diverse, such as health and social care, diversity is often concentrated in lower-paid roles. To meet the programme objective ‘to support specific groups of Londoners overcome barriers to entry to the sectors identified’, £670k from the core Academies budget, combined with the underspend from the Five Cities project budget (ADD2511), has been approved for research to understand the make-up of the sectors and the nature of the barriers to entry. The research will include quantitative analysis carried out by the GLA’s City Intelligence Unit, and externally commissioned qualitative work.

2.33 The findings of the research will be used to commission new ‘inclusive employer toolkits’ to help companies increase recruitment, retention and progression of excluded groups within their workforces. This will build on best practice from the WIN inclusive employers’ toolkit, launched under the previous Mayoral term, which helps young black men enter the construction and digital sectors. Toolkits will be aimed at employers and other organisations engaging with the hubs such as FE providers, including those engaging with new coordination hubs.

2.34 It is proposed that in the second year of the programme, more in-depth support will be offered to large employers across the sectors through the Design Labs programme. This will ensure the impact is sector-wide and at pace.

2.35 The aims and methods of the WIN will be embedded across other strands of Mayoral Academies activity. Crucially, the hub partnerships will be expected to target engagement of under-represented groups; the outcome of the research will be shared with the hubs to inform this. The Quality Mark will also consider how providers are working to ensure they attract and support learners who are typically under-represented in the priority sectors.

2.36 An MD for the WIN planned activities is in development, and this sets out more details on the use of funds allocated from the Academies budget.

Evaluation (£150k)

2.37 An evaluation that reviews the success of both the programme and the AEB job-outcome funding will be commissioned prior to awarding of the hub grants. This will ensure that delivery can be benchmarked and tracked throughout the programme.

2.38 Another key focus of the evaluation and learning will be the extent to which the interventions have supported priority groups of Londoners into good work and met employers’ needs.

Marketing & Events (£270k)

Campaign

2.39 In line with the Mayor’s manifesto commitment to ‘be the further and higher education sector’s biggest champion’, campaign activity is being developed to raise awareness among potential learners of the AEB offer. Form, content and key performance indicators for the campaign will be developed in due course; however, the Academies programme objective ‘to raise the profile of these sectors for potential applicants’ will be included in campaign aims.

Skills London

2.40 Building on the success of the MCA’s presence at the Skills London event, it is proposed that some funding is held in a marketing budget to fund Academies activity at the 2022 event and possibly the 2023 event (note: the 2021 event will take place virtually, as a result of the pandemic).

Capital (budget subject to underspend)

2.41 Capital funding may be available from monies currently committed to the Skills for Londoners Capital Fund (SfLCF). The availability of this funding will depend on levels of underspend across SfLCF projects. If available, and subject to formal London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP) endorsement (and future decision forms), capital funding could be focused on projects that meet the aims and objectives of the Academies programme and support the FE sector to deliver industry relevant provision in academies’ sectors. Availability of funding and associated timelines will be scoped out further in consultation with the LEAP Delivery team.

3.1 Section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010 provides that, in the exercise of their functions, public authorities must have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010

• advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

• foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

3.2 Relevant protected characteristics are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

3.3 The interventions outlined in this MD are aimed at supporting those most at risk from the impact of the economic crisis brought on by Covid-19. Priority groups include learners from BAME communities; learners without basic skills; learners with special needs or disabilities; lone parents; and low-paid learners. However, the groups referenced in the Good Work for All Mission are also considered to be priority groups and include those hit hardest by the pandemic including young people; newly unemployed people; people with caring responsibilities; people at risk of redundancy; and Londoners with the most complex needs, such as disabled Londoners and the long-term unemployed.

3.4 Equality, diversity and inclusion is a cross-cutting principle across the London Recovery Programme.

3.5 A sectoral workforce analysis of priority sectors is currently under way to better understand the obstacles facing under-represented Londoners hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic; this will help to inform WIN and Academies delivery. The research will identify where under-representation exists; reasons for under-representation; and opportunities to address under-representation through the activities of the Good Work for All Mission.

3.6 An Equality Impact Assessment is being drafted for the Hub – AEB Job Outcomes funding in order to understand the impact of the proposal and payment amount on people with protected characteristics and to identify any adverse impact and mitigation if necessary.

Links to Mayoral strategies

4.1 The programme outlined in this MD aligns with commitments made in the Mayor’s Skills for Londoners Strategy. It will support the London Recovery Board’s Programme and the Helping Londoners into Good Work mission. In addition, the programme will support the Mayor’s 2021 manifesto commitment to establish more sector-specific academies.

Risks arising/mitigation

4.2 Key risks and mitigation measures are outlined below. This may be refined following further stakeholder engagement.

4.3 There are no conflicts of interest to note from those involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision form.

5.1 This decision requests approval for expenditure of £5,039k on the delivery of a new Mayoral Academy Programme. The expenditure will be funded by the current allocation of £4,759k across financial year 2021-22 and 2022-23. It should be noted that the 2022-23 budget allocation will be subject to the annual budget-setting process and cannot be guaranteed.

5.2 The remaining £280k of expenditure will be funded from a reallocation of an underspend from the MCA. This reallocation is subject to appropriate financial approvals.

5.3 This decision also requests approval for additional payments to support the delivery job outcomes to eligible providers of up to £6m (£2m per academic year from 2021-22 to 2023-24). The additional payments will be funded from the AEB budget.

6.1 The foregoing sections of this report indicate that certain of the decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the:

6.1.1. GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further or which are facilitative of, conducive or incidental to the promotion of economic development and wealth creation, social development or the promotion of the improvement of the environment in Greater London, and in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought, officers have complied with the GLA’s related statutory duties to:

• pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people

• consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom

• consult with appropriate bodies.

6.1.2 Ministerial functions delegated, by the Secretary of State for Education, to the Mayor pursuant to section 39A of the Greater London Authority Act 1999.

6.2 In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty – namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 of this report.

6.3 The Mayor may, under section 38 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, delegate the exercise of the GLA’s functions (save for those concerning AEB matters) to the Executive Director for Communities and Skills.

6.4 Should the Mayor be minded to make the decisions sought, officers must ensure that to the extent that proposed expenditure:

6.4.1 concerns the use of third-party funding (whether that be funding from the DfE/Education and Skills Funding Agency/current programme underspend/other sources), no reliance should be placed upon such funding until legally binding obligations are in place for the provision to the GLA of the same of the same and to the extent necessary current agreements underspending are varied to enable the reallocation of sums not used

6.4.2 concerns the award of grant funding, such funding is awarded on a fair and transparent basis in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code and appropriate funding agreements are entered into and executed by the GLA and counterparties before commencement of the same

6.4.3 concerns the purchase of works, services or supplies, those works, services or supplies must be procured by Transport for London Procurement in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code and appropriate contracts are entered into and executed by the GLA and counterparties before commencement of the same

6.4.4 necessitates the variation of current funding agreements or contracts for works, services or supplies that advice is sought on the lawful parameters of the same.