Progress report

Buckinghamshire Business First is delighted to present the Progress Report for the Buckinghamshire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP). The LSIP has brought employers and providers together like never before to tackle long-standing skills problems and collaborate on solutions. The effect has been profound, and in this report, we set out in detail the progress against our LSIP action plan.

“I welcome the publication of the Local Skills Improvement Plan Progress Report for Buckinghamshire. These reports set out progress made on meeting the skills needs of local employers. As well as being a valuable source of information for local skills deliverers, employers and stakeholders, the reports along with the LSIPs themselves, will provide important intelligence for the newly established Skills England.” - The Minister for Skills, The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern

Buckinghamshire Local Skills Improvement Plan Progress Report 2023-24: Download here (PDF) >

Read the Buckinghamshire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP)

This ground-breaking report is the sum of six months of hard work, debates and focus groups with employers, training providers and other stakeholders. 

We have established the specific skills priorities for Buckinghamshire and created the blueprint for how these needs can be met. 

Thanks to the collaborative nature of the LSIP, this is a game-changer for employers, education and training providers, students and career seekers. 

While the LSIP covers the next two years, Buckinghamshire Business First is clear that we are looking longer term, and that this report is merely the beginning of what will create a tangible legacy. 

Read the Buckinghamshire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) > 

What is in the Local Skills Improvement Plan? 

The LSIP:       

• Identifies where the most pressing skills shortages are within the local workforce – i.e. the skills employers most need but are struggling to find locally.
• Stems from working directly with employers facing these priority skills shortages to gain a full understanding of the skills and expertise that are, or may in future, be required in Buckinghamshire.
• Enables education and training providers to deliver post-16 technical education or training that directly addresses the priority areas and skills shortages identified. This will be achieved in time for the start of the 2023/24 academic year in September 2023.  
• Considers how over-arching issues such as Net Zero, climate change and digitalisation affect businesses in all sectors.

How did the Local Skills Improvement Plan come together? 

Buckinghamshire Business First has led the research and development of the Local Skills Improvement Plan in Buckinghamshire, having been chosen by the government as the official Employer Representative Body (ERB) for skills in our county.

From the moment Buckinghamshire Business First was designated as the ERB for the county, we have worked closely with employers, sector-specific focus groups, education and training providers, representatives from Buckinghamshire Council, and our local Members of Parliament, to establish the specific skills priorities for Buckinghamshire.

For more detail, read the newly published Buckinghamshire LSIP Progress Report: Download here (PDF) >

For more detail, read Buckinghamshire LSIP Annex A - Local Strategic Context: Download here (PDF) >

For more detail, read Buckinghamshire LSIP Annex B - Background and Method: Download here (PDF) >

What are the established priority areas? 

The priority sectors identified are:  

• Construction  
• Digital  
• Engineering 
• Film & TV 
• Health & Social Care 

We identified the following cross-sector skills: 

• Digital literacy 
• Green / net zero 
• Work readiness

For more detail, read Buckinghamshire LSIP Annex C – Sectors and Cross-sector Theme Plans: Download here (PDF) >

How will this benefit employers in Buckinghamshire? 

• Employers are placed right at the heart of the Local Skills Improvement Plan in order to address key skills shortages. 
• Training and skills development will be more responsive to the needs of employers. 
• Courses will be designed to help employers recruit and/or train the staff they need to grow their business. 
• Seeing a better match between skills provision and their skills needs, something highlighted at employer focus groups and roundtable discussions. 
• Employers can support local employment and upskilling by offering apprenticeships and work placements, and seconding staff to colleges. 
• Seeing the human side of skills development and career opportunities through networking and talent showcase events. 

What is an Employer Representative Body? 

An Employer Representative Body (ERB) is an organisation that has been designated by the Secretary of State to be responsible for leading on the research, development and production of a Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) for a specified area. 

A total of 38 employer representative bodies across England have been tasked with writing plans that help to address local skills shortages and ensure that the priorities of businesses are being catered for by local education and training providers. 

In addition to being the Employer Representative Body for skills, Buckinghamshire Business First is also the Growth Hub for the county and has a membership of 14,000 Buckinghamshire-based businesses. 

Collaboration has been key 

As the ERB for skills in our county, Buckinghamshire Business First has worked with employers, training providers and other stakeholders to identify the key skills needed in Buckinghamshire and ensure that post-16 technical education and training is more closely aligned to these employer and local labour market needs. 

This work included the Draft Priorities Report that formed the basis of the Buckinghamshire Local Skills Improvement Plan, which itself builds on the work of the Buckinghamshire Skills Hub’s Local Skills Report 2022. 

The recent Buckinghamshire LSIP Summit brought together employers, stakeholders and training providers to bring to life the Local Skills Improvement Plan and explore the exciting next steps. The collaborative energy in the room was palpable, and it was clear that everyone was committed to working together to create a better future for the area by engaging with Buckinghamshire Business First in its role as ERB. 

What about schools and colleges?

Buckinghamshire has long set the blueprint for uniting employers and education and training providers through the work of the Buckinghamshire Skills Hub, whose county-wide events such as the wildly successful Bucks Skills Show are proof of the good that can come from bringing together different links of the same chain (employers and schools; employers and adult career changers; business groups and training providers).

Through the LSIP, education providers now have an insight into the future plan for skills in the county, and they and their students will benefit from activity such as work experience opportunities, teacher encounters with businesses, speakers from priority sectors, engagement with parents, and collaborations between schools and technical and vocational training providers.

Read the Buckinghamshire Local Skills Improvement Plan

Buckinghamshire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP): Download here (PDF) >

Strategic Context: Download here (PDF) >

Buckinghamshire LSIP Annex B - Background and Method: Download here (PDF) >

Buckinghamshire LSIP Annex Buckinghamshire LSIP Annex A - Local C – Sectors and Cross-sector Theme Plans: Download here (PDF) >

This Local Skills Improvement Plan has been approved by the Secretary of State in line with the approval criteria set out in the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, and in accordance with the LSIP statutory guidance.

How to contact us about the Local Skills Improvement Plan 

John Browning is the Programme Manager for the Local Skills Improvement Plan in Buckinghamshire.  

He can be contacted at [email protected] or 01296 798774 / 07507 690892.

To learn about the LSIP Conflict of Interest Policy and the LSIP Register of Interests, click here.