Business bosses to explain why young Londoners can’t get work
BUSINESS leaders will this week tell an inquiry why they think young Londoners struggle to compete with migrant workers in the jobs market.
Bosses including Starbucks UK head Kris Engskov, The Berkeley’s chef patron Marcus Wareing and charity leader Eddie Stride will appear before the inquiry, set up by Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
Travelodge chief executive Grant Hearn, who sits on the Mayor’s enterprise panel, will also share his thoughts on the employability of young Londoners.
Johnson commissioned the inquiry last year to examine how well London’s primary and secondary schools prepare young people for the world of work.
In April, the inquiry’s chairman Dr Tony Sewell said London’s schools were “heading in the right direction, but not good enough”, with four in 10 students not achieving five good GCSE results.
The Mayor said today: “London is a fantastic generator of jobs and whilst I applaud the tens of thousands of foreigners working in our hotels, coffee shops and restaurants as a shining example, we need to learn what makes them able to get those jobs that young Londoners don’t seem to want or aren’t good enough to get. We need to ask tough questions.”