The government has approved Local Skills Improvement Plans for both the West Midlands and Warwickshire, setting out priorities for closing skills gaps that businesses say are holding back growth across the region.<\/p>\n
The West Midlands LSIP, led by Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce with support from Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, Black Country Chamber of Commerce and the West Midlands Combined Authority, was developed following consultation with more than 1,000 employers, educators and regional stakeholders. A separate Warwickshire plan, developed through consultation with around 700 organisations, has also received government sign-off.<\/p>\n
The West Midlands plan identifies six priorities: simplifying access to the skills system, increasing modular and bite-sized training, improving work-readiness and foundation skills, developing leadership and management capability, embedding digital, data and AI skills, and building green and sustainability expertise. Each priority is mapped to specific sectors including advanced manufacturing, clean tech, defence, digital, health and social care and the creative industries.<\/p>\n
The Warwickshire plan sets out five priorities covering leadership and management, digital and AI confidence, work readiness and entry pathways, flexible and modular training, and improved navigation of the skills ecosystem through Warwickshire Skills Hub.<\/p>\n
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Businesses tell me one of the biggest challenges they face is finding enough people with the right skills, especially in fast-growing industries like construction, advanced manufacturing, green and medical tech. The recommendations in this report will help us plug that skills gap and accelerate growth.”<\/p>\n
Corin Crane, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said the plans put the future of skills and training in the hands of local employers. He said: “This second Local Skills Improvement Plan for the region has put the future of skills and training in the hands of local employers by listening to their needs and identifying actions that will help them ensure their staff have the skills to meet today’s challenges and those to come.”<\/p>\n
Henrietta Brealey, chief executive at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said the plan had been shaped by the collective expertise of employers, educators and partners. She added: “Skills drive opportunity, productivity and growth. By listening to employers and working together across the region, we can equip people with the skills businesses need and help more local residents access meaningful, rewarding careers.”<\/p>\n
Jacqui Smith, Minister for Skills, said the reforms including to the Growth and Skills Levy and the Youth Guarantee would build a workforce prepared for the demands of today as well as the jobs of tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Both plans link directly to the Mayor’s West Midlands Growth Plan and the Warwickshire Employment and Skills Strategy respectively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The government has approved Local Skills Improvement Plans for both the West Midlands and Warwickshire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284306,"featured_media":2114226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[136545,127720],"coauthors":[137138],"class_list":["post-2114225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-government","category-skills","tag-coventry-and-warwickshire","tag-featured-story","tag-west-midlands"],"yoast_head":"\n