“I want to level with the public. Some jobs will go.” In any other era, these words, from a Cabinet Minister (in this case from Secretary for Science, Innovation Technology Liz Kendall) would be front page news. But such is the pace of technological change in the AI era that they barely made a dent.
Indeed, they’re hot on the heels of a report from the World Economic Forum at Davos that, alongside some optimism, the majority of the business community thinks that AI will displace a large number of existing jobs.
The question is: How if a tech and AI-driven major disruption to work is imminent, how can we prepare our young people for it? It’s a complex, challenging question but there is one overriding measure we can start doing now – enable people to develop skills in the industries of the future.
We are already working on the pathway here in Hammersmith & Fulham, offering a blueprint for the capital’s innovative businesses, schools, colleges and local governments.
Take Ely, a sixth-former at West London Free School. He studies physics, maths, further maths and politics, but his career pathway isn’t confined to the classroom. Through H&F’s Pathway Bond, he’s gained work experience with cutting-edge bio-tech firms like Sequoia Genetics, Biome Technologies and Fresh Canvas in the White City Innovation District.
For Ely, the real impact has been being able to speak directly with researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs who are shaping the industries he’s interested in, which AI is changing every day.
And he is far from alone. Over the next few months, around 200 students will get support via mock interviews and CV clinics through employee volunteering. Forty-five students will gain medical and healthcare work placements with Imperial NHS Trust and NHS Allied Healthcare.
Hundreds more will tour research labs, hear from media professionals, and attend our Inspire events showcasing the industries of the future – practical rungs on the ladder that help talent, not connections, decide who gets ahead.
A first-of-its-kind initiative, the Pathway Bond connects local young people with the fast-growing industries shaping the capital’s economy for the future – backed by major employers such as Novartis, ITV, and Blenheim Chalcot as well as the brilliant start-ups and scale-ups across our borough.
It’s part of our inclusive economic growth strategy Upstream London which, through our partnership with Imperial College London, is transforming White City into one of the most dynamic innovation districts in Europe, helping attract £6 billion in high-growth business investment and create over 17,000 skilled jobs since 2017.
Upstream of the City, we’ve built an innovation borough where ideas ahead of their time become reality – and where residents share in that success. The borough is officially home to London’s fastest growing economy.
Ely is just one of many young people accessing opportunities through this approach, earning their place through aspiration and ambition, not through family networks, and being trained in the skills already disrupting the workplace. His story offers a glimpse of what London’s future could look like if we put skills and opportunities at the heart of our offer to every child.
That’s why the Pathway Bond matters. It’s not just a Hammersmith & Fulham initiative. It’s a model for how London – and Britain – can align education, business and government to deliver opportunity for all and get ahead of the challenges AI is bringing.
When Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones MP called our borough “a case study for the government,” he captured exactly what this approach represents: a practical, inclusive blueprint for growth, led by an entrepreneurial municipal government. It’s proof that when councils use their convening power to unite business, education and community, public purpose and private investment reinforce one another.
Liz Kendall is right to highlight the importance of training and new skills in the face of the AI boom, and the role she suggests for central government is an important one.
But we also need to recognise the power of locally led partnerships. Councils like ours are already working entrepreneurially with businesses and institutions to align skills and innovation. By recognising and championing strong partnerships between councils, businesses and educators, government can help scale models that turn innovation into opportunity across the country.
The Pathway Bond is our way of ensuring ambition, not privilege, determines who gets ahead and gets those vital tech skills for the jobs of the future. It's how we turn the capital's economic dynamism into opportunity for all.
In a city like London, no young person should be locked out of the future simply because they don't know the right people. Every talented young Londoner left behind is potential we're squandering. And in the face of unprecedented disruption, we owe it to every single one of them to create a pathway to the future.
Stephen Cowan is leader of Hammersmith & Fulham council
