WeAreTheCity’s Post

About last Thursday! I was honoured to join an inspiring panel at Let’s Lead the Future at the House of Lords, a fantastic event organised by LetsLocalise. A huge thank you to Gaurav Garg and Padmasini Dayananda (Padma) for the invitation and to Baroness Manzila Uddin for hosting such an important conversation. The room was filled with representatives from charities, NGOs, not-for-profits, and corporate organisations, all passionate about one mission—ensuring young people have the skills they need to thrive in the business world. Throughout the afternoon, powerful panels and keynotes explored social value, impact, and what we, as a collective, can do to drive change. Padma set the stage with a compelling statistic—there are 8,000 businesses in the UK and 2,900 schools. If every business supported just three schools, the difference we could make would be extraordinary. As part of the panel on The Power of Collaboration to Accelerate Skilling, I had the pleasure of speaking alongside Merinda Owusu (Infosys), Professor Maggie Atkinson, and Michele Bennett (Langdon Park School) - What a joy to meet you all. My key message was the power of collaboration. The room was filled with organisations that, by pooling resources, funding, and ideas, could create real momentum in equipping young people with the skills they need. Ultimately, we’re all working toward the same goal! I shared how WeAreTheCity and WeAreTechWomen have always championed collaboration - participating in hundreds of partnerships and creating events and forums that bring people together to explore ways to work collectively. No competition - just shared purpose. Because the truth is, we go further when we move together. Our discussion also tackled some of the biggest challenges in skilling at scale: ✅ Is the skill deficit and opportunity gap a crisis? (Spoiler: Yes!) ✅ The impact of AI on the future of work and what that means for young people choosing careers ✅ Why skilling efforts are still fragmented and how collaboration is the key to making a real impact ✅ The role of platforms like Let’s Localise in bridging the gap between businesses and schools ✅ The one thing we each committed to in order to accelerate skilling It was a privilege to be part of this conversation, and I left feeling even more motivated to continue driving change—because the future of work belongs to those we equip today. 💡 If you're in a position to support schools, mentor young talent, or help bridge the digital divide, now is the time to act. Who’s with me? 👏 PS, It was lovely to see so many of our award winning community and supporters attending this event, pure passion to drive change, lovely to see you Akua Opong CITP MBCS FRSA, Gill Cooke (she/her), Usha Kong, Sarah Tulip, Laura Helen Brown and Peter Mousaferiadis #LetsLeadTheFuture #LetsLocalise #SocialImpact #FutureSkills #WomenInTech #Collaboration