LSIPs driving skills forward

"By putting employers at the heart of skills planning, LSIPs are ensuring training provision reflects the real needs of the local economy."

A new report has revealed that Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are delivering real results for employers, colleges, training providers and learners in the West Midlands, Warwickshire and beyond. 

The analysis by the British Chambers of Commerce has delved into the performance of LSIPs across England for the past four years. They are employer-led, place-based partnerships that bring businesses together with further and higher education, independent training providers and strategic authorities to ensure skills provision reflects real labour market demand 

There are 39 LSIPs across England and 33 of them are run by Chambers of Commerce. The programme is helping to reshape the skills system, so it better supports productivity, growth and opportunity in local economies. The report highlights the success of the LSIP model in engaging employers at scale, strengthening collaboration between education and business, and translating employer insight into practical change on the ground. 

In the West Midlands and Warwickshire, more than 1,000 businesses have been engaged, which helped identify a range of sectors to prioritise and has already led to £10.4 million invested being invested on the ground into new facilities, courses, and programme. 

While the report notes wider challenges facing the labour market, including the need to better engage young people with the world of work, its central conclusion is clear: LSIPs are working and provide a proven, employer-led framework that can be built on to drive long-term economic growth. 

Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce leads the LSIP in both Warwickshire and the West Midlands as the designated Employer Representative Body, working with employers and partners to identify priority skills needs and turn them into meaningful action for businesses and learners. 

It is working with West Midlands Combined Authority, Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and Black Country Chamber of Commerce to deliver the West Midlands LSIP and with Warwickshire County Council and Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce on the Warwickshire LSIP. 

Corin Crane, Chief Executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce said: “By putting employers at the heart of skills planning, LSIPs are ensuring training provision reflects the real needs of the local economy. The programme is strengthening collaboration, improving outcomes for learners and helping businesses plan for the future. 

“We believe that LSIPs should now become a permanent part of the skills planning process and avoid time-consuming re-tendering processes. Businesses also need to see that discussion can genuinely turn into quick results and we want a flexible pot of funding available to local providers to action the LSIP results and allow them to move quickly to support local businesses.” 

The full report, Delivering Growth: Four Years of LSIP Impact, is available here. 

For more information on the LSIPs in Warwickshire and the West Midlands email: lsip@cw-chamber.co.uk