The West of England Local Skills Improvement Plan is led by Business West Chambers of Commerce and funded by the Department for Education.
What is an LSIP?
LSIPs 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, and 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.
Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIPs) 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 West of England LSIP 2023 report
Read our LSIP FAQs
We have collated a selection of frequently asked questions on the Local Skills Improvement Plans. Read them all and our answers here.
What is the West of England LSIP?
Business West has been chosen to run a local skills improvement plan (LSIP) across the West of England. The West of England 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 do I get involved?
We’d love to speak to you. Get involved with the West of England LSIP either by attending a short interview, coming along to one of our upcoming events, or joining a focus group. In these sessions, you will be part of an in-depth discussion around 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?
Get in touch with us today to book yourself in at LSIP@businesswest.co.uk or sign up to our mailing list to find out more.
Who can get involved?
We want to speak to a representative from any size business located in the West of England and working in the following sectors:
- Creative
- Health, Social Care and Life Sciences
- Construction
- Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering
- Digitalisation
- Net Zero
- Core and Transferable Skills (Business and Administration)
In the coming months, we will set out the key priorities needed to make technical education and skills provision more responsive to the changing needs of employers and the local economy in the West of England.
To find out more about our sectoral priorities and key outputs moving forward, please get in touch using the details below.
Book an Interview
Book an interview with Lauren, our West of England Business Engagement Executive Lead today.
Further Education and Post-16 Technical Education Providers
We want to speak to further education, and post-16 technical education providers, (including independent and sixth form colleges) based in the West of England 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
Preliminary Findings
The preliminary 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 sectoral and regional documents, which are freely available for download below. While we have released the preliminary findings, business engagement, co-design and validation work continues until the end of April and we encourage you to get involved.
We strongly believe the success of the West of England 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 preliminary findings
We are pleased to announce that we have released our preliminary findings for the West of England LSIP prior to commencing the wider report and roadmap later in May.
Get in touch
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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.
- 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.
- The work we undertook as part of the LSIP pilot has been a real catalyst for change in driving the employer voice further into the discussions around skills and technical learning and the future workforce skills needs. We are looking forward to seeing what comes forward as part of the next phase of the Plan process and supporting employers across the region to develop their current and future workforce.