Hosted at CEME's Rainham campus, the event was sponsored by the Local London Green Skills and Jobs Partnership, which is led by London South East Colleges. The event featured key industry speakers and included two breakout sessions.
The aim was to stimulate discussion around the region's green skills needs, develop relationships with the key employers needing these skills and gain insight into the many developments and opportunities across the region.
Employer delegates included representatives from: Wates Group, MEARS Group, NHS, Essex Wildlife Trust, the Quantum Group, Royal Borough of Greenwich and Coventry University.
Opening the event was Mark Jenkinson, CEO of green consultancy Crystal Associates. Other speakers included Sarah Murray, CEO of Local London and Louise Wolsey from London South East Colleges. All spoke about the importance of collaboration and ways to support the next generation of skilled employees.
Breakout sessions were then held for delegates to discuss what colleges can do to help employers close skills gaps and also to explore the importance of building future skills.
Group Chief Strategy Officer at London South East Colleges, Louise Wolsey, spoke about ways in which FE Colleges are responding to the green skills challenge. She said:
"As an FE College, we are committed to supporting our students into fulfilling careers in exciting industries - and the green sector offers exceptional opportunities. But to maximise this, we need to continue enhancing our collaboration with both SMEs and large employers.
"Together we can close skills gaps, grow the economy and support our local communities with access to great green jobs - via reskilling, establishing industry standard qualifications and improved training facilities and flexibility in FE.
"The Strategic Development Fund has facilitated some really important work in this area and we are looking forward to building on this, together with our Mayoral Academy partners."
Mark Jenkinson, CEO at Crystal Associates, added:
"Without doubt there needs to be a much greater urgency with the implementation of climate change plans. Effective national policies are needed, but the future of Net Zero must focus at a local level
"To achieve this, we need to bring businesses, educators and communities together. With the ambition to double the size of London's Green Economy by 2030, there is much work to do - but the opportunities that exist are huge.
"Employers are being asked to make a pledge to support this drive. I'd urge them all to do this and for everyone to play their part in this important movement.
The Local London area is a partnership of nine boroughs in the northeast and southeast of the capital. Funding from the Department for Education's Strategic Development Fund is supporting a collaboration of 13 FE colleges, employers and local authorities in this area to drive green skills forward.
This project includes the development of green laboratories at eight FE Colleges. These will offer cutting-edge training facilities and support a skills pipeline for employers over the coming years.
The event was hosted by CEME - a key partner in the project. Focused on business growth, innovation and development. CEME's business campus in Rainham has recently been chosen as the preferred site for a £29m Hydrogen Living Lab www.ceme.co.uk
For more information about the partnership, the work being done and the opportunities available across the region, visit www.LSEC.ac.uk
SN