The digital revolution is coming to London, writes Sir Sadiq Khan

From AI-powered algorithms that can protect us from cyber-attacks to cutting-edge vaccines that can cure diseases, technology is transforming our city in ways I couldn’t have imagined even nine years ago, when I was first elected.

The fact that London is leading the way, however, is no surprise. The capital has always been a home for people with big ideas to change the world for the better. Today, we’re the world’s top city for global talent. Whether they’re working on special effects for blockbuster films, building robots, or discovering life-saving drugs, Londoners are redefining the limits of what’s possible and paving the way to a new era of prosperity.

For some people in our city, though, it doesn’t always feel like that. I’ve dedicated my time as Mayor to ensuring that every Londoner can share in our city’s success story - already delivering adult skills programmes for more than a million Londoners - but the sheer speed of technological change means those efforts are no longer enough.

Without the skills to take up good jobs in the industries that will define the decades to come, growing numbers of Londoners are worried about being left behind. If we don’t act now, they will be. Sticking to the status quo wouldn’t just create a more unequal city, it could create a poorer one. Without access to a workforce with the skills they need, our businesses will be held back or – worse – forced to move elsewhere.

We need a radical rethink. Developed with businesses, trade unions, London’s world-leading further education sector and others, the Inclusive Talent Strategy we’ve published today delivers just that. Backed by £147m in new funding, it will transform the capital’s skills system. For the first time ever, it will put employers in the driving seat, empowering them to shape the future of education and ensure that Londoners are learning the skills to succeed in the sectors that need them.

If our rethink is to be truly radical, though, transforming the way skills are acquired is not enough. For people with disabilities or long-term health conditions – people who are too often written off by those who cannot see their potential – the barriers to getting a job can feel insurmountable.

That’s why the Inclusive Talent Strategy will integrate our skills system with health services to provide better support for people who have been excluded from our economy, ensuring that every Londoner gets the chance to change their life for the better.

Sometimes the challenge is not finding work; it’s staying in it. In the last decade, the rising cost of living has threatened to drive talented people out of our city. To build an inclusive economy, we must ensure every Londoner has the decent wage and conditions they deserve. This includes maintaining our commitment to protecting the poorest in our society and ensuring that the costs of housing, transport and childcare arere never a barrier to success for anyone.

London will never achieve its potential unless every Londoner can achieve theirs, just as businesses here will not succeed unless our city has the skills they need. The digital revolution we see unfolding before us will inevitably lead to upheaval, but it also presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The strategy we’ve set out today means nowhere will be better placed to capitalise than London.

Together, we’ll create good growth: growth that gives employers the confidence they need to invest here and gives Londoners an equal stake in our success as we build a fairer, greener, more prosperous London for everyone. A better future is there for the taking. We must ensure that no Londoner is left behind.

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Sadiq Khan is the Labour Mayor of London.

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