London Luton Airport: investing to inspire local talent

Investment in local recruitment initiatives and education programmes is paying dividends for London Luton Airport (LLA). Adding momentum to the airport’s plans for responsible and sustainable growth, 62% of LLA’s workforce now lives within the seven postcode areas closest to LLA.

Cementing our position as an employer of choice

Aviation offers a wealth of diverse and exciting career opportunities. As a major employer and a key economic driver in Bedfordshire, London Luton Airport (LLA) supports 27,000 jobs and contributes £830 million per year to the local economy.

As LLA continues to grow responsibly and sustainably, the role we can play for our people, our local community and the environment has never been more important. We recognise that investing in skills development and educational programmes can deliver a significant positive impact in our local communities, particularly for a town like Luton, which has above average levels of unemployment and deprivation, and where 22% of its population is below the age of 15, the third youngest population in the country.

From classroom to career

It is a powerful thing to be able to positively influence how young people think and feel. As a major local employer for a wide range of professions and trades, LLA is ideally placed to do just that – by investing in skills development and education in the community and shining a light on the many career pathways our sector can offer, whilst continuing to make a positive social impact on our local communities.

Launched in 2024, our bespoke ‘Essential Skills in Aviation’ workshops have already been delivered to 200 Year 8 and Year 9 students across 10 local schools, including one school specifically for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

This education outreach programme was developed by our amazing sustainability team in partnership with not-for-profit enterprise, Skills Builder. The programme is strategically aligned with the wider business skills and employment needs of LLA, as well as Luton Council’s Luton 2040 vision, which allows organisations from various sectors to contribute to creating a healthier, fairer, and more sustainable town.

The programme has benefited enormously from the support, skills and expertise provided by colleagues from LLA’s operations, security, health and safety and guest experience teams, many of whom have themselves benefited from the airport’s career development programmes.

Focusing on authentic, essential and transferable skills-based activities designed to bring careers at LLA to life, the next three years will see 2,000 individuals benefitting from our education programmes. Aiming to provide a variety of interventions throughout students’ school journeys, the programmes will equip young people with skills, opportunities and career insights to help them to thrive in the workplace.

The feedback from both the students and our volunteers so far has been incredibly positive. However, our focus on educational engagement isn’t confined to the classroom. We are equally passionate about our work to support the local community in making a positive environmental impact.

Building a sustainable community

As the UK’s most socially impactful airport, with a community investment programme that is unmatched by any other in the UK, LLA works hard to significantly benefit the lives of local people across Luton and its neighbouring communities, outside of just recruitment.  

One way we do this is by providing young people with first-hand opportunities to access nature. In 2024, LLA joined forces with local charity, The Forest of Marston Vale Trust, to launch a hugely successful environmental education programme for local primary school children. The programme provides children with valuable opportunities to visit the community forest and develop an understanding of nature and biodiversity.

Alongside this, LLA’s Greener Future Fund, launched in 2023, provides grants to support biodiversity, carbon reduction and environmental education projects run by organisations, charities and schools within a five-mile radius of the airport.

Driving the local economy

Last year, LLA invested £110 million in businesses within a 25-mile radius, amounting to 60% of the airport’s total annual supply chain spend. Our figures demonstrate that over the past 12 months, we have worked with more local suppliers than ever, with 322 local businesses providing works, goods and services to the airport over the past 12 months.

Our commitment to supporting the local economy also involves regular procurement training workshops aimed at raising awareness of ongoing and future tender opportunities at the airport. Working closely with Luton Council and local business groups, we continually look to identify and engage with local companies that are well-suited to meet our needs.

This unyielding focus on boosting the local economy creates thousands of opportunities for local businesses and their employees, while helping to reduce environmental impact by minimising the distance that people, goods and materials need to travel.

What’s next for LLA?  

Following a period of significant investment by shareholders Aena and Infrabridge, annual passenger numbers at LLA have grown by 50% in the last decade from 11 million in 2014 to 17 million today, the fastest period of growth in the airport’s history. As demand for the airport continues to rise, LLA is working closely with Luton Council to make sustainable growth a reality, whilst ensuring that delivering significant and enduring social benefits is central to LLA’s core values.

From continuing to invest in our local supply chain, to employee volunteering, our Community Trust Fund and the airport’s annual concession fee, we will continue to identify opportunities to deliver positive outcomes to local people.

LLA has also recently announced two new charity partnerships with the National Literacy Trust and Tokko Youth Hub. These charity partnerships cement LLA’s commitment to supporting a broader programme of volunteering and fundraising, creating new opportunities to develop the airport’s existing skills development and education initiatives to drive engaging and impactful education and skills development initiatives that will support career pathways that are vital to young people in Luton.

Fostering local connections

As well as regular attendance at careers fairs across local schools, colleges and universities, we will also continue to work closely with Luton Council and key partners such as Job Centre Plus and the Department for Work and Pensions to raise our employer profile.

Job opportunities at the airport are shared with Luton Council and Luton Rising, the Luton Council company that owns the airport, for local advertisement, before being posted on external job boards, to ensure the local community is targeted as a priority.

Close collaboration with Luton Council has also enabled LLA to tap into underrepresented groups within the community, ensuring LLA remains an accessible and equal employer. As a result, strong foundations have been built with key groups, including the REACH Society, who support young black boys and men in fostering connections, and the Launch Group, who support talent acquisition, commercial training and social impact measures.