The West of England Plus Local Skills Improvement Plan Trailblazer was led by Business West Chambers of Commerce and funded by the Department for Education. Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) were introduced in the Skills for Jobs White Paper in January 2021 and the Business West team delivered the pilot from November 2021 – March 2022.
Read the full LSIP Trailblazer report here
Watch our 5-min Executive Summary video:
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.
The LSIPs are truly employer-led and locally owned; they give local areas the flexibility to innovate and tailor approaches to their specific needs. The West of England Plus LSIP aimed 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.
- Work closely with the West of England Combined Authority and the Skills Advisory Panel.
The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill are currently passing through Parliament and will provide a statutory foundation for local skills improvement plans. Over the next four years, the government is investing millions of pounds into development and training provision. As part of the West of England Plus LSIP, we reached out to businesses of all sizes in the Aerospace, Advanced Engineering and Health and Social Care sectors on where this money should be invested and how training and education should be delivered to feedback to the Department for Education.
To get involved with the West of England Plus LSIP, businesses could choose to feedback via a short interview, an online survey, a remote Q&A or at one of our focus group events. In these sessions, we facilitated an in-depth discussion on the basis of the following question themes:
- How do you plan to grow your business?
- What support do you need to grow in terms of finances, facilities, and staffing?
- What are your current training procedures?
- What types of technology does your team use and need for your roles?
- Do you have a net zero or sustainability plan?
Over the three months delivery period of the pilot project, we hosted 15 events (and attended many more!), we received over 50 survey responses and we conducted over 110 interviews.
Make your voice heard and plant a tree
For every event attended, survey completed or interview conducted as part of the LSIP Trailblazer, we have planted a tree with our partner Ecologi in a UK forest. We have planted a total of 300 trees so far.
As part of the Trailblazer pilot, we collaborated with our B-Corp partner, Ecologi, to plant an LSIP forest. Business West has already planted over 20,000 trees with Ecologi and offset more than 1,000 tonnes of CO2. You can track our LSIP progress here - we've planted 300 trees so far!
We have sent the location of each tree using the app whatthreewords to the survey and interview respondents so one day they can visit their tree and watch it grow.
Past Events
West of England Plus Local Skills Improvement Plan Q&A
On Monday 11th April we released our full West of England Plus Local Skills Improvement Plan Trailblazer report. Watch the recording of this session where we discussed our findings and recommendations for both the Aerospace & Advanced Engineering and Social Care sectors, as well as next steps and the rollout of LSIPs moving forward.
Jet Zero Hydrogen and Skills
Wednesday 26th January 2022
Online: Zoom
Started at 10:00am
Ended at 12:30pm
Free, invitation-only*
*Limited to two representatives per company
On Wednesday 26th January we hosted Jet Zero Hydrogen and Skills in partnership with WEAF. Our keynote speakers were Katy Milne, Head of Industrial Strategy for ATI’s FlyZero team and Lahiru Ranasinghe, Senior Strategy Manager at easyjet .
During this event, we heard from key partners involved in product development, the rollout of infrastructure and uptake of hydrogen pan-sector and we gained valuable insight on how hydrogen is playing a key role in the aerospace sector's journey to net zero. Our speaker sessions included Trudie Savage FRAeS, Head of Powerplant, Hydrogen & Hydromechanical Systems Test at Airbus, Claire Arbery, Director at The West of England Institute of Technology and Alan S M Robinson, CEO of Smart Ports Ltd .
Registration for this event has closed. However, we have recorded the full session, please click below to view the recording.
Meet the team
Matt Tudge
Project Manager
As LSIP Project Manager, I design and oversee the overall strategy, progress and outputs for the West of England Plus LSIP. Within my role, I ensure we are working with the most appropriate partners, speaking to as many relevant businesses as possible and adding value to everyone’s understanding of current and future skills, as well as providing opportunities for businesses to feed directly into education and training provision.
Lauren I. Holmes
Business Engagement Executive
As a Business Engagement Executive I act as the key link between Businesses and Skills providers as part of the LSIP project. I am responsible for gathering intelligence from businesses on their future needs from the skills sector. I assist with the interpretation and analysis of the data captured and will play a key role in LSIP events and employer roundtable discussions on the future skills landscape.
Chloe Stockwell
Events and Marketing Manager
One of my main responsibilities in the LSIP team is to circulate relevant news about the LSIP project as well as opportunities for businesses in the West of England Plus to engage with the project and be given a platform to voice their future workforce and business growth requirements. I am also responsible for designing, producing and delivering a series of events ranging from employer roundtables to industry topical conferences that align with the skills needs of our the companies in the region.
News and Updates
- I was really grateful to Business West for having a conversation with me about the opportunities available in the Care sector. I really hope that we can all work together to improve the stereotypes of the Care sector and bring on more staff with enthusiasm and excitement for the Care sector.
- I believe that the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) activities being carried out in the West of England are an exciting opportunity for people to contribute towards future growth needs in the region.
- It is crucial for employers, like ourselves, especially SMEs in the Social Care sector to have the right skills and people to ensure a resilient workforce and future. We support Business West’s bid to deliver a Trailblazer Local Skills Improvement Plan in the West of England to ensure employers voice helps shape skills provision in the region…
- 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.
- So how do we set up a service that delivers high quality care and that is sincerely caring? We find people who are really moved by why we’re doing what we’re doing, and then we train them well, pay them well, and help them grow. We encourage people to find courses that are relevant to them and their future. It’s always a heartbreak when we lose someone who’s great because they’ve moved on to better things. But it’s also an honour to contribute to their life journey.
See our LSIP video reel
To find out more about LSIP, check out our video reel on YouTube:
