A new body, London Workforce Development (LWD), was launched yesterday. It aims to facilitate collaboration between employers, employees, and higher education providers in the capital, to attract and develop highly skilled talent.

Held in association with the CBI at Centre Point, the breakfast launch event saw over 50 delegates from the business and higher education sectors come together to learn how London Workforce Development is helping to develop collaborative working.

Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the LWD initiative arose from an employer engagement research project to understand the need and demand from employers for higher level skills in London and the supply of higher level skills provision.

The project outcomes recommended the establishment of a dedicated centralised resource to facilitate higher education-employer relationships - London Workforce Development.

Ralph Blunden, head of LWD, said: "Over the past 12 months, we have been listening to employers and higher education providers on where there is potential to build on existing capabilities of providers, matched to the under-served needs of employers.

"Our discussions with employers have provided confirmation that they collectively recognise the potential for higher education providers to contribute to higher level skills development. Similarly, we know they would value support from a centralised resource to aid them to navigate the HE sector. Therefore, our remit is to enable employers to navigate the higher education system, find solutions and work more closely together".

As a division of London Higher, a membership organisation representing over 40 universities and colleges of higher education in London and the Greater South East Region, LWD has established relationships with these providers, and is well placed to remove the complexity of navigating the higher education sector to identify the appropriate partners and expertise for an employer's learning and development needs.

Sara Parker, the CBI's London regional director, added: "Business and education partnerships are a key area of focus for the CBI and we are pleased that London Workforce Development is providing value in addressing this issue."