City deals and skills: How have City and Local Growth Deals supported the development of employment and skills policies that reflect local demand? Naomi Clayton & Louise McGough July 2015 city growth through people About Centre for Cities Centre for Cities is a research and policy institute, dedicated to improving the economic success of UK cities. We are a charity that works with cities, business and Whitehall to develop and implement policy that supports the performance of urban economies. We do this through impartial research and knowledge exchange. For more information, please visit www.centreforcities.org This report is the first of an 18-month partnership between Centre for Cities and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. About the authors Naomi Clayton is a Senior Analyst at Centre for Cities
[email protected] / 020 7803 4314 Louise McGough is a Policy Officer at Centre for Cities
[email protected] / 020 7803 4325 Acknowledgements With thanks to UKCES for supporting this work. All views expressed in this report are those of the Centre for Cities. All mistakes are the authors’ own. city growth through people City deals and skills • July 2015 Executive Summary How to deliver responsive and flexible local employment and skills strategies that support job creation, local economic development and labour market inclusion is a long-standing issue. In support of this, over the last five years various aspects of employment and skills policy have formed a significant element of devolution policies. During this period the government trialled various approaches to decentralisation across the UK but predominantly in English city regions.