BT1388 Employment & Skills Strategy Consultants

Tender description

The Council require external consultancy with suitable expertise and an in-depth understanding of Luton and its partners to produce: - A five year partnership Employment and Skills Partnership Strategy - A five year partnership SMART Implementation Plan. Luton is a vibrant, modern and diverse town with many unique features. It has a population of 213,100 and is recognised as being one of the youngest and most diverse towns in the country. Alongside the many challenges facing the town, Luton has a number of important strengths and assets. Luton has an excellent strategic location, it is home to the fifth largest airport in the UK, less than 30 minutes from London and in the centre of the Oxford to Cambridge Arc. A strong local economy worth £7.5bn at the beginning of 2020 is underpinned by a cohesive town with a powerful sense of community spirit and support from local businesses. There are many good and outstanding schools and a strong higher and further education offer through the University of Bedfordshire, Barnfield College, Luton Sixth Form College and Central Bedfordshire College, Cranfield University and the Open University just across the border. In recent years, Luton has enjoyed economic success with high rates of economic growth and earnings above the national average. Whilst progress has been made, there are still sections of our communities who have not benefited from this success and wider labour market changes have led to many having to rely on low quality or insecure work. The town faces high levels of deprivation with 46% of children growing up in poverty. The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected Luton with the town cited as having the 7th highest number of furloughed workers, 32,000 jobs at risk and the 8th highest claimant counts for cities and large towns in the UK. Furthermore, with disruptions to education and qualifications along with high numbers of young people finding themselves unemployed, we are at risk of having a lost generation of young people. Without action, the progress Luton has made on the levelling up agenda is under threat. Tackling inequality is at the heart of the challenge we face with some sections of our communities being particularly impacted by Covid-19. Securing a strong economic recovery following the impact of COVID-19 is essential and is a central pillar of the recently launched Luton 2020 – 2040 Vision to ensure that everyone in Luton has the opportunity to thrive and no-one has to live in poverty. As part of our response and our longer term plan to delivery an Inclusive Economy, we are looking to produce a partnership Employment and Skills Strategy and Implementation Plan