The Gloucestershire Local Skills Improvement Plan is led by Business West Chambers of Commerce and funded by the Department for Education.
What is a Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP)?
A Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) is a three year research project funded by the Department for Education to align post-16 technical education and training with the needs of local employers.
Developed by Employer Representative Bodies (ERBs) like Business West, LSIPs gather research on local area business needs and set actionable priorities. These priorities aim to enhance collaboration between employers, training providers, and stakeholders to better prepare employees for the workforce.
Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) Trailblazers were introduced in the Skills for Jobs White Paper in January 2021 and the Business West team delivered a pilot LSIP in the West of England Plus region from November 2021 – March 2022. The Skills for Jobs white paper set out the government’s blueprint for reshaping the technical skills system to better support the needs of the local labour market and the wider economy.
Read the full Gloucestershire LSIP Progress Report 2024
What is the Gloucestershire Local Skills Improvement Plan?
Business West runs the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) for Gloucestershire. The Gloucestershire LSIP will aim to:
- Bring employers, colleges, independent training providers, and other local stakeholders together.
- Set out the key changes needed to make technical skills training more responsive to employers’ skills need.
- Tailor provision to the challenges and opportunities most relevant to the region.
- Address learner demand and make meaningful collaborative change.
How can I get involved?
We’d love to speak to you! You can get involved with the Gloucestershire LSIP in a number of ways including:
- Attending one of our upcoming events
- Signing up for a skills clinic in person or virtually.
- Booking a Signposting Local Provision meeting to find out more about relevant provision in Gloucestershire that meets your business needs.
Who can get involved?
We want to speak to a representative from any size business located in Gloucestershire working in the following sectors:
- Digital Industries (IT, Tech and Business Services)
- Agriculture, Agritech and Land Management
- Construction
- Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering
- Digitalisation
- Net Zero
- Core and Transferable Skills (Business and Administration)
Further Education and Post-16 Technical Education Providers
We want to speak to further education, and post-16 technical education providers, (including independent training providers and sixth form colleges) based in Gloucestershire who offer courses in any of the above sectors.
“We will bring together local businesses, training providers and stakeholders to really understand the skills needed in the area and to enable economic growth that will benefit everyone in the region.
“The LSIPS will be an opportunity for businesses to shape how their future workforce will need to look to ensure business plans are delivered in the right way and to create a more modern, digital and sustainable workforce.”
Matt Tudge, LSIP Project Manager at Business West Chambers of Commerce
Priority Findings
The priority findings are summaries of the outputs of each of the LSIP sectors so far. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far either via 1-2-1 discussions, events, meetings or providing reports and data that has formed our labour market intelligence, we are extremely grateful for your input.
The priority findings documentation is divided into individual documents for sector and local area, which are freely available for download below. Here you will also find subsequent findings updates for year two of the LSIP. Business engagement and validation work continues throughout the project and we encourage you to get involved.
We strongly believe the success of the Gloucestershire LSIP depends on collaboration and communication. If you’d like to speak to us about the findings, please get in touch with us to arrange a slot at LSIP@businesswest.co.uk
Read our Priority Findings
We are pleased to announce that we have released our Priority Findings for the Gloucestershire LSIP prior to commencing the wider report and roadmap later in May.
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- Hartpury University and Hartpury College welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively on the development of the LSIP. Hartpury places great emphasis on employer liaison to ensure alignment of provision with current and emerging skills and labour gaps. As such, this piece of work is more important than ever given the evolving economy and associated challenges that lie ahead.
- SGS College is really pleased to be working with Business West again on the development of an LSIP. We are especially keen as a college on working with other providers in a strategic and joined up way to ensure that the collective curriculum offered meets the needs of both young people as well as the county's workforce for the future.
- Each year at Gloucestershire College we provide training for over 1500 employers. Employers in every sector are struggling to recruit staff with the skills needed for our local economy to thrive. The extent of skills shortages being reported is now unparalleled in my career. We look forward to working in partnership with Business West and the local business community on this vital piece of work.
- Gloucestershire & Wiltshire Partnership (GWP) is really excited to be working with Business West on the LSIP’s for both the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire areas. We look forward to working with the colleges and Independent Training Providers across our region in helping businesses to identify and meet their current and future skills needs.