LIFTing the local economy to represent our communities
Words by Chris Bowles, Inclusive Economy Project Officer at London Borough of Camden
This week we’re launching our LIFT (Leading Inclusive Futures through Technology) programme with Islington, Hackney and Tower Hamlets councils, aimed at making our tech, creative and life-sciences sectors more representative of our communities.
Working in Camden it’s hard to miss the signs of development and investment, it’s everywhere you look, from the recent redevelopment of King’s Cross, to current construction work around Euston, and future plans for the industrial area around Kentish Town. The organisations attracted by this new employment space are overwhelmingly the high-tech, creative or life-sciences ‘knowledge’ businesses that are responsible for so much of the growth in London and the UK.
Although many of us are exposed to the products of these industries, through new technology, services or healthcare advances, in terms of employment, they’re out of reach to many. Many of the neighbourhoods that directly border key clusters of tech, creative and life-sciences businesses in Camden and London are marked by some of the starkest contrasts in wealth and poverty in the country. Next door to the ‘Knowledge Quarter’ in Somers Town, 24% of people have no qualifications and 29% receive out of work benefits. These communities feel left behind and excluded from the growth on their doorsteps. Whilst industries are able to attract talent from across the globe, they should also be able to provide jobs for people across the street.
Tackling this challenge is partly about creating and securing pathways for local people into these industries. Through our STEAM programme in Camden, we are already working with employers to tackle underrepresentation and raise aspirations in education, making sure all young people are able to access opportunities in our creative, digital and scientific sectors. We also use our planning levers as a council to require major developments in Camden to secure employment opportunities for local residents.
However, we also need to tackle how representative our knowledge industries are of the communities that surround them. Only one in nine senior leaders in tech come from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, yet these residents make up more than 40% of the population in London. More than 33% of tech board members, and 31% of senior executives, attended private schools, compared to just 8% of the UK as a whole. And in the UK, for every £1 of venture capital investment, less than 1p goes to all-female led teams.
We’re launching our £7.4m LIFT programme to create opportunities and address inequalities in our thriving local tech, creative and science sectors. Its range of projects will give local people the skills and tools they need to start their own business in these sectors, or to join and thrive in an existing local organisation in a high-quality, secure career.
LIFT will actively seek out employment and training opportunities from leading digital and tech firms, and aims to secure new affordable workspace for entrepreneurs. It will also help smaller local firms that have yet to get a foothold in digital commerce which has proven so important in weathering the challenges of the pandemic.
As we continue to experience the unprecedented impact of COVID-19, we’re determined to build a better local economy that works for everyone. That means helping people to progress and succeed into good quality work that is right for them, whether it’s through employment or entrepreneurship, and ensuring that our local economy reflects our talent pool. LIFT is one of many initiatives that will help us to do that.
For more information on the LIFT programme, visit liftfutures.london
