The next round of Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) kicks off in Autumn 2025. At the planning stage, it is a good idea to get an understanding of major stakeholder needs and how they can contribute. It is also worth asking how they think you can improve from the previous LSIP.
𝟭. 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗽: 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗼𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲
- Plan for education and skills provision that better reflects the needs of local businesses
- To achieve this requires robust evidence and engagement
𝟮. 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗦𝗜𝗣 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀
- Participating in an LSIP puts local authorities at the centre of the conversation
- LSIPs help local authorities to engage with a broader range of employers than usual
𝟯. 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆
- For local authorities it is essential to improve and integrate education, training and employment support as part of their employability and community services
- They want to directly use LSIPs as a means of shaping the use of the Adult Skills Fund and their own local economic and skills strategies and investment plans
- LSIPs help to ensure that education and training align better with the real-world demands of local employers as well as residents
- Your local employers need skilled staff to thrive. A strong local economy, powered by the right skills, directly boosts their bottom line and resilience
𝟰. 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲
- LSIPs provide local authorities with the neutral ground upon which to work with local employers and education and training providers
- The economy is dynamic – skills needs are constantly shifting. LSIPs are a method of convening all the key elements of the local skills system to get ahead of change
𝟱. 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗦𝗜𝗣 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿
- Local authorities gather a lot of data and insight on their local
- economy and local communities. They want to ensure that these needs are incorporated into the LSIP
- Local authorities also have staff and access to funds that can help to deliver the priorities identified
𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙧-𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙟𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣.
The LSIP Trailblazer evaluation conducted by DfE found strong examples of high-quality employer engagement to inform high-value provision; and increased employer confidence in the responsiveness of the skills system
Our 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 builds on evidence, evaluation and guidance to provide expert advice and support to Supercharge your Local Skills Improvement Plan.
Access it here: https://lsip.net/ultimateguide
