A New Frontier: higher education and diversifying the talent pipeline for London’s emerging industries
- A new report launched today reveals higher education in London is a major contributor to diversifying the talent pipeline to jobs in emerging industries, with more than 30 universities in the capital delivering over 190 widening participation interventions.
- This widening participation activity is concentrated in inner and West London. Outer London boroughs remain ‘cold spots’, meaning opportunities for young people in areas like Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Bexley are much more limited.
- There is no established framework for demonstrating where and how widening participation work serves London’s growth sectors, hindering coordination and obscuring the full extent of higher education’s contribution. The report creates a framework that could be used across the skills system in future.
- The report recommends that all parts of London’s skills ecosystem must collaborate to pool provision, develop careers guidance and extend pathways to the jobs of the future, ensuring access for Londoners across the capital.
Published: February 2026
