Welcome to Linking London

Linking London is a collection of educational partners, from small adult focused organizations to large multi purpose further education colleges and highly prestigious research intensive universities. As a large and diverse partnership of educational providers, our ultimate goal is to bring about the change necessary to improve opportunities for vocational students. We are uniquely qualified and strategically positioned to achieve this goal. The change wee seek to bring about includes: Change in the way learners with vocational background and qualifications and background are treated and understood; Change in the expectation and transparency of process that students can legitimately hold about progression; Change in the education sector's relationship with employers, stakeholders, and others to improve the timeliness, relevance, and responsiveness and quality of education provision; Change in educational practice, and; Change to ensure we have the citizens, employees, and businesses we need for the future prosperity of London, and the rest of the UK. We have been tasked to ensure that the doors are wide open to students. Linking London is fully committed to these goals.

Linking London is a network of thirty five education partners including sixteen Universities, fifteen Further Education Colleges, four Adult Colleges, and a central team of ten staff, supported by numerous stakeholders. We are hosted by Birkbeck at the University of London and funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). We were established in September 2006 and our achievements and activities thus far have been captured in the Linking London Progress Report of September 2006. We are currently funded as a HEFCE initiative until July 2011.

London needs a highly educated workforce of skilled individuals to help ensure that it retains its place in the economic market place. Londoners need access to learning that is available and relevant in a variety of delivery modes. Linking London has been set up to ensure and improve opportunities for vocational students, who may wish to progress through Higher Education. We are also here to support employees in the workplace who may wish to access higher level qualifications and skills, but may need additional information to make informed choices.

By working with a large and diverse groups of education partners, we are striving to improve the information available to would be students, the involvement of higher education with employers and the progression and transition from vocational learning into higher level learning to help ensure that what is offered is appropriate to the needs of business and the economy of the future. We provide support for staff in our partner institutions to improve the flexibility of the courses they offer and the accessibility of their information, and by working together we help to simplify the world of education for those outside it.