Press Release

Mayor refreshes London Skills and Employment Board to focus on delivery
14-10-2008   530

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today (Tuesday, 14 October) announced the appointment of nine new members to the London Skills and Employment Board (LSEB).

He also announced the re-appointment of 12 existing Board members.

Chaired by the Mayor, the Board provides leadership to boost adult skills and jobs in the capital and includes top London business leaders, large employers, small businesses, education specialists, local authorities and union representation.

Commenting on the new Board, the Mayor said: “I am fully focused on ensuring London pulls through the current economic downturn, emerging stronger than ever and retaining its position as a leading world city. To achieve this we must ensure that London’s employers have access to the skills they need, which is particularly important in more challenging economic times.

‘We know our small businesses are a key part of London’s economy and have a whole range of different skills needs to that of large businesses. The Board has produced an excellent Strategy but now comes the more important task of delivery’’.

The Mayor made a manifesto commitment that the Board should represent London’s smaller businesses as well as large ones. The new appointments provide the Board with additional employer expertise from the key employment and business sectors for London, and strengthen links to Higher Education and the London Boroughs.
   
The nine new members are:
-  Sonita Alleyne OBE, Chief Executive, Somethin’ Else
- Mariane Frances Cavalli, Principal and Chief Executive, Croydon College
- Ian El-Mokadem, Group Managing Director, Compass Group
- Richard Gooding OBE, Chief Executive, London City Airport
-  James Kempton, Leader, Islington Council
-  Prof. David Latchman, Chairman London Higher and Master of Birkbeck College
- Chris Melvin, Chief Executive, Reed in Partnership
- Terence Keith Morgan, Chief Executive, Tube Lines 
- Martin Stevens, Managing Director, Unimatic Engineers Ltd

The new-look Board will work on the delivery of the London Skills and Employment Strategy that was launched in July this year.  The Strategy focuses on cutting through the bureaucracy that impedes businesses and Londoners gaining the skills they need to succeed. It sets out the blueprint for the changes that are needed to improve job and skills opportunities for Londoners and the capital’s employers.

The Mayor wants to make skills training more accessible and better tailored to businesses and Londoner’s needs and will hold the agencies working in London to account on achieving this. 

Notes to Editors

1. Full list of London Skills and Employment Board members
- Chairman: Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
- Vice Chair: Harvey McGrath, Chairman Designate, Prudential plc
- Lucy Adams, Human Resources Director, Eversheds
- Elizabeth Balgobin, Chief Executive, LVSC 
- David Butcher, Managing Director Service Introduction, BT
- Keith Faulkner CBE, Managing Director, Working Links 
- Barry Francis, Regional Manager, Unionlearn SERTUC
- Tracey Hahn, Managing Director, Merrill Lynch 
- Paul Head (previously an advisor to the Board), Principal and Chief Executive, The College of North East London
- Grant Hearn, Chief Executive, Travelodge 
- Jack Morris OBE, Chairman, Business Design Centre 
- Nick Turner, Partner of the Monitor Group

- James Wates, Deputy Chairman, Wates Group 
- Sonita Alleyne OBE, Chief Executive, Somethin’ Else
- Martin Stevens, Managing Director, Unimatic Engineers Ltd
- Mariane Frances Cavalli, Principal and Chief Executive, Croydon College
- Prof. David Latchman, Chairman London Higher and Master of Birkbeck College
- James Kempton, Leader, Islington Council
- Terence Keith Morgan, Chief Executive, Tube Lines 
- Richard Gooding OBE, Chief Executive, London City Airport
- Ian El-Mokadem, Managing Director, Compass Group
- Chris Melvin, Chief Executive, Reed in Partnership

The Mayor has identified the following ex officio Board advisors:
- Dinah Caine OBE, Chief Executive, Skillset
- David Hughes, London Regional Director, Learning and Skills Council
- Patrick Hughes, Director for London, JobCentre Plus
- Peter Rogers Chief Executive, London Development Agency

2. The Board’s purpose is to develop and oversee the implementation of a Skills and Employment Strategy for London.  It also provides strategic direction of the Learning and Skills Council’s adult Skills budget in London (approx. £600m per year), and influences the spend of other key delivery organisations including the London Development Agency and JobcCentre Plus. The Board is a statutory body and has been established to bring private sector expertise and the Mayor’s leadership to the adult skills agenda with a view to improving skills and employment outcomes. 

London Skills & Employment Board website

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