The Swindon and Wiltshire 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)?
Local Skills Improvement Plans are truly employer-led and locally owned; they give local areas the flexibility to innovate and tailor approaches to their specific needs. LSIPs will bring together employers, education, training providers and other local stakeholders to set out the key priorities and changes needed in the area to ensure post-16 technical education and training prepares employees better for work.
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 Swindon & Wiltshire LSIP Progress Report 2024
What is the Swindon and Wiltshire LSIP?
Business West runs the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) across Swindon and Wiltshire. The Swindon and Wiltshire 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 local area.
- Address learner demand and make meaningful collaborative change.
How do I get involved?
We’d love to speak to you.
Get involved with the Swindon & Wiltshire LSIP by attending one of our upcoming events or signing up for a skills clinic in person or virtually. You can also attend a Signposting Local Provision meeting to find out more about relevant provision in Swindon & Wiltshire that meets your business needs
Who can get involved?
We want to speak to any employee from any size business located in Swindon or Wiltshire and working in the following sectors:
- Automotive
- Health, Social Care and Life Sciences
- 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 Swindon and Wiltshire 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 to 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 Swindon and Wiltshire LSIP depends on collaboration and communication. As such we are encourage you to get in touch to discuss the findings and the wider report contents and suggestions. 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 preliminary findings for the Swindon and Wiltshire LSIP prior to commencing the wider report and roadmap later in May.
Get in touch
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- We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Business West to develop and deliver a Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIPs) for our region. There has never been a more important time for Further and Higher Education to work hand in glove with employers to train people for the skills we need. The Swindon and Wiltshire LSIP will turbo charge our current and future relationships with employers to boost skills levels and drive the regional economy.
- Firstly, I was delighted to be given the opportunity to take part in the interviews for the LSIP project. As a local company owner and formal educationalist, I believe there is a true requirement for a clear representation to be made to support the growth and improvement of engineering organisations. I believe we need to return to the grass roots of education, to provide young people with the confidence to explore the world of engineering, with educational development set with purpose and need, opportunities and progression.
- 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.
