The Chamber are working to close the skills gap across the region
August 3, 2023
What is LSIP?
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) is funded by the Department for Education and independently led by Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce.
The LSIP project aims to make technical skills training and provision more accessible across the region. As the regions designated Employer Representative Body (ERB), the Chamber has been working closely with employers, providers and key stakeholders to develop evidence-based, credible, and actionable LSIP.
With support from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) – the LSIP represents an exciting approach to addressing skills gaps and identifying best practice in the region.
The region is the area covered by the CPCA and broken down into the following districts:
- Cambridge City
- South Cambridgeshire
- East Cambridgeshire
- Huntingdonshire
- Fenland
- Peterborough
What has happened so far?
Throughout the first stage of this project, the LSIP team have collaborated with a wide range of education providers, local employers across the public and private sectors, and Business Representative Organisations (representing thousands of businesses across the region) through roundtable discussions and 1:1 conversation.
In addition, the Chamber distributed skills surveys and received over 300 responses, which supported the analysis of employer skills needs.
Further engagement, such as stakeholder workshops, has allowed the LSIP team to host conversations between different stakeholders across the region, with over 135 attendees in total.
Data and feedback from our stakeholder engagement has been captured and has been used to validate a number of stakeholder perceptions and experiences of the region’s skill system at their district level. In addition, the LSIP highlights cross-sector themes which will enable skills gaps to be addressed more effectively across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
What’s next for LSIP?
The LSIP was submitted for approval, to the Department for Education in May 2023. It highlights solutions to the challenges employers have reported in navigating the skills system and set out a roadmap for taking collaborative action in response.
Once approved by the Secretary of State, we expect to publish the full LSIP report on our website e in August 2023.
Further details of how we plan to support the ongoing actions taken as a result of the LSIP will be made available in the coming weeks.