Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIP) are developed by an employer representative body (ERB) for a specified area. They draw on the views of employers operating within the specified area, and any other evidence, to summarise the skills, capabilities or expertise that are, or may in the future be, required in the specified area. They identify actions that relevant providers can take regarding any English-funded post-16 technical education or training that they provide to address the requirements mentioned.
Whilst all post-16 technical education or training is in scope, an LSIP is not intended to be a comprehensive anthology of all skills gaps in the area. It will be for employers through the designated ERB to identify the most pressing skills issues informed by local economic strategies and employment and skills plans.
This LSIP covers all of Surrey, as well as North and Mid-Hampshire. Below is a list of the local authorities covered by this LSIP:
Basingstoke & Deane; East Hampshire; Elmbridge; Epsom and Ewell; Guildford; Hart; Mole Valley; Reigate and Banstead; Runnymede; Rushmoor; Spelthorne; Surrey Heath; Tandridge; Test Valley; Waverley; Winchester; Woking.
Surrey Chambers of Commerce has been designated by the government as the Employer Representative Body (ERB) for this area. ERBs are responsible for producing LSIPs and are the mechanism to ensure that a coherent local business voice is at the heart of the skills system.
ERBs will play a crucial role in translating the needs of local businesses and work closely with training providers and key stakeholders to develop evidence-based, credible, and actionable LSIPs.
Hampshire Chambers of Commerce are a key partner that will be supporting Surrey Chambers of Commerce to engage with Hampshire-based businesses and providers.
This is a unique opportunity for local businesses to highlight their current and future skills requirements and play a genuine role in influencing and shaping local skills and training provision to meet their needs.
Do you struggle to recruit staff to specific roles because there is a lack of candidates with the right skills and qualifications? Are you struggling to find local providers that offer the courses you need to upskill your staff? Are you keen to utilise apprenticeships to improve your businesses’ productivity but don’t know where to start? The LSIP project exists to capture the feedback of businesses to highlight these challenges in a coherent way to drive change in skills and training provision locally. Your input is invaluable to support this process.
The LSIP provides an opportunity for providers to work with employers and others in a structured way to improve skills provision to meet identified local needs.
Once approved and published, relevant providers have a duty to have regard to the LSIP related to decisions regarding English-funded post-16 technical education or training they provide in the area.
Providers produce Annual Accountability Statements, which will need to set out how providers have engaged with employers and responded to LSIPs.
