With global industrial restructuring and major economic shifts impacting London’s long term economic base and traditional methods of reporting Labour Market Information (LMI) often perceived as overwhelming to navigate and offering little in terms of local content, the need for comprehensive, focused and accessible LMI has become apparent. The accessibility and accuracy of this type of information is vital because it reflects conditions and trends, career employment demand, influences education and training, and informs business decisions impacting the future of the local community.These evidence-based decisions allow the targeting of public monies to the areas of greatest need.
Funded by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, the London Economic Development Corporation is coordinating The Local Labour Market Information Project to meet this demand for relevant and easily accessible LMI.Launched in August, 2011, the project aimed to aggregate and analyse existing data and develop a model for integrating various data sets within a community-based data consortium. Through interviews with 48 key informants, 265 survey respondents, several focus groups and a review of best practices, a clearer picture of what is needed at the community level and how the information should be shared has been produced. The attached report defines and prioritizes the key LMI needs of a variety of local stakeholders including employers, jobseekers, educators, students, employment support agencies and others.
“This project has a lot of value,” notes Robert Collins, Director, Workforce Development at the LEDC.“Having identified the needs more clearly, our next step is to develop an action plan and secure the necessary resources and commitments to make it happen.”
For more information about the project, contact:
Robert Collins
Director, Workforce Development
London Economic Development Corporation
rcollins@ledc.com,
519.661.4526
