London Business Consortium

“Skills Brokers are the bridge between the employer and the training solution. We represent the employers and are there to help them find the training that is right for them. We can also feed information back to training providers about the skills employers are looking for.”

Norman Jennings Operations Director

Business sector:

Skills Broker

Employees:

15 Skills Brokers and four associates

Region:

London

Company profile:

The London Brokerage Consortium is a partnership made up of three companies - Exemplas, Reed in Partnership and Ixion Holdings. It is one of three Skills Brokerage contractors in the London region appointed by the Learning and Skills Council’s new Train to Gain service to help employers get the training they need to succeed.

The Challenge:

Norman Jennings, Operations Director of The London Brokerage Consortium outlines the key challenges:

“Training really can be a minefield for employers, particularly those who haven’t engaged in it before.”

“In the past, smaller businesses have often been so nose to the grindstone that they haven’t had time to focus on training. It’s our job to help identify ways in which companies can develop the skills of their employees. We want to help them see that training is good for their business while at the same time understanding that the business is first and foremost about making a profit and it’s not going to stop just because someone is in training.”

The Solution:

The independent and impartial brokerage offered by The London Consortium and the other London Brokers under Train to Gain is based on the belief that employers must address skills needs in order to ensure they remain competitive in the marketplace.

The consortium’s team of Skills Brokers have a broad knowledge of the training provision currently available to companies. They make a point of keeping in close contact with key stakeholders like Sector Skills Councils, further education colleges and trade associations so they know exactly what is happening in the sectors they’re working in.

“The most important thing for us as Skills Brokers is to engage with employers, build up relationships with them and keep in regular contact to ensure their needs are being met,” says Norman.

The Results:

Since Train to Gain was launched The London Brokerage Consortium has:

• Assessed the needs of 398 companies across London
• Established key issues about the skills needed by employers and employees
• Undertaken an Organisational Needs Analysis for each business