The Square Mile is educating the workforce of the future

By investing in this generation, we can ensure that our workers and workplaces have the skills to achieve, laying the foundations for the City’s future success, says Chris Hayward

Here in the City we have one of the youngest, most highly-skilled workforces in the country: over half of the Square Mile’s 615,000 workers are under 40. And each year we welcome a new cohort of young people who are joining the City workforce for the very first time – many out of university but also those joining straight from school. 

As this new generation joins us over the coming weeks, it is important to recognise how different their experience of work will be. Young people today will be the first generation that uses AI in the same way that the previous generation used computers and the internet – as an essential part of daily life. This generation will be the first to live their entire lives turning the tide of the climate crisis. And this generation will ultimately lead the City through the many challenges ahead in our rapidly changing world.

This is why education – at school, university, and in the workplace – matters. Ultimately the future is in their hands. 

By investing in this generation, we can ensure that our workers and workplaces have the skills to achieve, laying the foundations for the City’s future success.

The City of London Corporation is committed to preparing young people to flourish by providing exceptional learning and the skills which link to the world of work through our City of London Academies Trust. The Trust contains a family of 10 high-performing academies across London in Hackney, Islington, Newham, and Southwark.

Over the past two weeks, students from our academies and across the country have received their A-level and GCSE results, setting up the next chapter in their lives. 

I am immensely proud of the students and teachers at the City of London Academies Trust for their achievements. At A-level, students at the City of London Academy Highgate Hill achieved 57 per cent A*- A and 85 per cent received A* – B grades, with an overall pass rate of 100 per cent. And at GSCE, City of London Academy Shoreditch Park achieved their best results since opening in 2017 – 83 per cent of pupils gained a Level 4 pass or above, in both English and Maths GCSEs. I hope now that every student will be confident in their abilities and look forward to their next challenge. 

Through good education, inspiring teachers, and new skills, the Square Mile can build the future workforce, unlock potential, and radically transform lives. Through the academies trust, the City Corporation supports some of the most disadvantaged communities in London’s boroughs. The majority of these schools serve children in extremely deprived communities, where over 60 per cent of students receive free school meals – four times the national average.

By providing young Londoners with a stronger, broader, skill set, we can more effectively raise social mobility. I am proud that we have twice been named by social mobility charity, the Sutton Trust, as the UK’s best academy sponsor for empowering pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to perform above the national average.

But education does not end once students leave school. Employing apprentices is an effective way to build the future workforce and for firms – and apprentices – to acquire and develop the skills they need. There are 180 people currently placed as apprentices at the City Corporation in a diverse range of jobs across our departments. And our free London Careers Festival offers 30,000 young people a year employment advice, apprenticeships, and work experience from major global institutions.

By providing outstanding education, we can help open doors to opportunity and welcome the brightest young minds into the City – securing the Square Mile’s place as a world leader for people, skills, and technology for decades to come.

Chris Hayward is policy chairman of the City of London