We are proud to be part of the launch of a new and ground-breaking partnership to boost skills, jobs and innovation across South London and the sub-region.
Bringing together 10 institutions, underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding, and uniting us under the banner of the South London Colleges & Universities Partnership, the agreement sets out a coordinated focus on skills, innovation and growth.
By aligning research, skills provision and employer engagement, we aim to help businesses find the expertise they need and residents move more easily from education into high-quality jobs.
BIG Ambition
The partnership builds on the excellent collaborative work already taking place across the sub-region between further education colleges, universities, industry and wider partners. It will work closely with the South London Partnership – the cross-party collaboration of the London Boroughs of Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Richmond upon Thames and Sutton – to deliver on the BIG Ambition: South London Growth, a blueprint for accelerating South London’s economy, attracting investment, and supporting more people into well-paid, secure jobs.
South London is a £38 billion economy – home to 1.2 million residents, 55,000 businesses and 550,000 jobs – and the partnership is designed to match that scale of opportunity.
Priority sectors include health and life sciences, digital and creative industries, the visitor economy and green technologies – areas where there are already major strengths. From life sciences research linked to NHS and academic centres, to dynamic creative clusters and fast-growing low-carbon businesses, the partnership aims to connect these assets more effectively.
Ground-breaking partnership
The partnership is also ground-breaking due to its focus on promoting collaboration between Further and Higher Education. By combining the Colleges’ strengths in technical and community‑focused learning with the partner Universities’ expertise in advanced study and research, the partnership will:
- Widen participation
- Create opportunity
- Better meet local skills needs
- Lever investment
- And support local employers to innovate and grow.
By working together, we will ensure a more coherent system that delivers better opportunities for learners, better outcomes for businesses, and stronger more sustainable outcomes and impact for South London.
Engines of innovation
In a joint statement, the Vice Chancellors and College Principals of the ten institutions said:
“Our Universities and Colleges are engines of innovation, growth, and learning, creating opportunity right across the region, and both enriching and being enriched by the economic, social and cultural life of South London’s diverse communities.”
“Each institution brings its own strengths, and together our global, national and regional networks give us the power to create real impact. By working as one, right alongside our partner South London Boroughs, we can amplify that impact for everyone who lives, works, studies and is vested in South London.”
We will drive skills development
Jo Withers, Executive Director for Business Growth and Partnerships at HRUC also added:
“We are delighted that Harrow, Richmond and Uxbridge Colleges (HRUC) has joined with other leading institutions in the region to form this new partnership to boost skills, jobs and innovation. Through our collaborative approach we will drive skills development and create new opportunities to help students access the support and training for the careers they want and to assist businesses to find the talent they need to develop and grow their workforce.”
For more information on the partnership, visit BIG South London.