At last month’s CambsB2B North, one of the most valuable sessions took place quietly around a table – a focused, off-stage roundtable on the future of skills in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Convened as part of the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), the discussion brought together policymakers, educators, and employers to explore how the local skills system could better reflect the needs of the region’s economy.
Among those in attendance were Melanie Collins, Head of Local Skills Improvement Policy at the Department for Education, David Laing, Senior Policy Lead for LSIPs, and Andrea Wood MBE, Assistant Director for Skills and Employment at the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority. They were joined by local training providers, Chamber representatives, and business leaders, all of whom brought practical insight to the table.
Rather than broad declarations or abstract strategies, the conversation focused on specific challenges: how to make apprenticeships easier to access, how to design training that fits around real lives, and how to address sector-specific shortages without losing sight of the bigger picture.
“There was real engagement from everyone involved,” said Nick Frank, LSIP Manager at Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce. “This was a working conversation where people were honest about the issues and thoughtful about how to solve them.”
Several priorities emerged:
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The importance of modular, flexible learning to support career progression
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The need to strengthen trust and communication between providers and employers
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Recognition of local variation – that what works in one part of the region may not in another
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And the principle that people, especially younger learners, must remain at the centre of policy and provision
The session ran longer than expected – a small indicator of the level of interest and commitment in the room. It also showed how valuable these smaller, practical discussions can be in shaping policy that reflects the real-world context in which skills are developed and used.
The Chamber and its LSIP team now hope to continue this dialogue – not as a one-off event, but as part of a longer-term effort to align training and employment more closely across the region.
Pictured (left to right):
Nick Frank, LSIP Manager, Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce
David Laing, Senior Policy Lead – LSIPs, Department for Education
Melanie Collins, Head of Local Skills Improvement Policy, Department for Education
Charlotte Horobin, CEO, Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce