Essex Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ltd -

Issue 4

Welcome to the fourth edition of this e-bulletin, updating you on development of the Essex LSIP. Further information is available on our website and you can also email us at lsip@essexchambers.co.uk. This update includes general skills news, so please get in touch if you have any to share.

LSIP Report – Now submitted to the Department for Education (DfE)

With thanks for your feedback and input, we have now submitted the draft plan to the DfE. Their feedback is expected soon and the final copy will be published in July. Whilst contents remain confidential for now, we can share broad headlines. They are:

Essex Sector Priorities and Technical Skills – There are a wide range of employers in Essex from small and medium sized (SME’s) to nationally significant projects like Thames Freeport, Freeport East and the Lower Thames Crossing. Priority sectors include Construction and the Built Environment; Digitech; Health & Care; Education; Advanced Manufacturing and Transport and Logistics. Deep dives on such sectors will be carried out in the coming months.
Essex Skills Priorities – Employers said that soft-skills and behaviours; basic English, Maths and English as a Foreign Language (EOSL); Digital; Green and Leadership and Management skills were most in demand. More clarity on how to support inclusive employment was also required.
Skills System Priorities – Employers said that that there was a lack of flexibility in the skills system; Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) was not always effective; there are significant tutor shortages; There were barriers to engagement and overall, the skills planning system locally needs simplifying, to support Essex employers meet their skills needs.

Employers informed some of the emerging recommendations in the Essex LSIP. These included:

•   Re-establish an employer-led Employment and Skills Board (ESB) providing strategic leadership for skills in Essex.
•   Establish sector and cross-cutting task and finish groups to support LSIP delivery.
•   Map out skills provision currently available and ensure employers are aware of what’s available.
•   Develop a regularly updated Labour Market Information (LMI) resource to help inform skills provision.
•   Produce sector-deep dives which support and inform delivery.
•   Review and improve access to existing skills provision.
•   Work with the local skills system and key stakeholders e.g., Greater Essex Careers Hub, to provide effective and current careers advice.
•   Build on SELEP work underway across three LSIP areas to build solutions to key skills challenges, including Tutor shortages in Essex.

More detail about these priorities and the actions underpinning them will be shared when the final Essex LSIP is published. Do keep a look out.

Sector facts and figures

The Essex LSIP includes an evidence base and data annex which contains a wealth of skills and employment data, including projected growth and vacancies. This has helped to inform the Essex priorities alongside employer feedback and enabled the recommendations to be developed. This will be shared when the Essex LSIP is published.

Sector Spotlight

As part of our ongoing work with the LSIP, we have made a commitment to complete sector deep dives for each of our ten priority sectors. The sector we will be completing the first deep dive on will be transport and logistics. This sector has a large presence within Essex, including two airports, two ports and a number of infrastructure projects. Two Freeports are also based here. We look forward to sharing this with you.

Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) Guidance published

The LSIF describes the fund which will support LSIP delivery and this will be led by colleges and providers in LSIP areas.

The DfE have published guidance for colleges and providers which is available here. The Essex college and provider bid to the LSIF is in development and more detail will follow.

Partner updates and related news

As we develop the LSIP, we are building links with the Unit for Future Skills, who are linked to the DfE. They are also providing skills data to support decision-making. Their work currently covers:

Improving the coverage and timeliness of skills data and labour market projections.
Structuring and improving access to data, with a local skills dashboard which provides access to up-to-date information.
Providing insights to enable learning, which include labour market “horizon scanning” and case studies.

Over the next six months, they will be analysing occupations in demand; investigating supply and demand of science, technology and computing skills; publishing a Career Pathways Dashboard and publishing research on new methodologies for future job projections. We will share headlines and feed detail into the Sector Deep Dives.