Creating a Blueprint for Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) 

With the place of Local Skills Improvement Plans confirmed within Government skills policy, James Farr, Director of Think shares the highlights of a recent Gatsby-supported project to develop a model local skills plan. 

It is now nearly three years since DfE designated Employer Representative Bodies (ERBs) for all areas of England, becoming responsible for developing and implementing Local Skills Improvement Plans which were first published in Summer 2023.  

Fast forward a year, and, anticipating that local skills planning would become a feature of Government policy under Labour, we launched a project in late summer 2024 to develop a model local skills plan. By December 2024 the Devolution White Paper confirmed Government’s intention to continue with LSIPs under ‘joint ownership’ with Strategic Authorities in devolved areas, with plans to refresh LSIPs from Autumn 2025 confirmed not long after.  

Through this period, we worked on developing a model local skills plan (with input from two LSIP areas) to offer a practical, accessible and replicable blueprint for a local skills plan.  

The foundation of this model was not theoretical; it was informed by the experience we gathered through extensive work with Employer Representative Bodies on LSIPs dating back to late 2022. This included providing assistance to ERBs as they developed LSIP reports in 2023, conducting detailed reviews of all published LSIP reports, and facilitating wide-ranging consultations in 2024 to draw out best practice and identify obstacles. 

This knowledge and experience from this Gatsby-supported work helped us to develop a model skills plan, described in detail within our new report.  

The model local skills plan has a particular focus on shaping publicly funded technical education provision to improve the alignment between the supply of skills and employer needs. It has three main parts:  

Area and the economy 

An effective local skills plan begins with a clear sense of place. Its first section should provide a brief, digestible overview of the local area, its economy, and its labour market: 

• Geographical context: A map and concise description highlighting key settlements and demographic trends, often drawn from existing Local Growth Plans. 
• Historical context: A high-level summary of priorities and actions from previous Skills Action Plans and earlier LSIP documents. 
• Economic landscape: A data-driven synopsis capturing the defining features of the local economy, summarised from Local Growth Plans (where they exist) or (if no Local Growth Plan exists) drawn from sources like ONS data and information about strategic developments such as enterprise zones or major infrastructure projects. 
• Leadership and networks: An outline of the civic, business, and sector-based organisations that shape local policy, including trade unions and industry clusters. 
• Key education and training providers: A table summarising the major post-16 technical education and higher education institutions, their funding streams and scope of delivery, using information published by the DfE. 
• Governance: A brief on the structures overseeing the development and implementation of the model local skills plan, detailing the responsibilities of each partner organisation. 

Skills shortages, gaps, and priorities 

This section forms the analytical core of the plan. It synthesises data and stakeholder feedback to identify and prioritise the skills most urgently needed by local employers, incorporating: 

• Priority sectors: If not pre-determined by a Local Growth Plan, we suggest consistent criteria for selecting priority sectors using published data (employment figures, productivity data, local sector specialisms, etc)-summarised in a clear, comparative table.  
• Skills shortage occupations: Drawing on both qualitative feedback (such from employer interviews and focus groups) and quantitative indicators (mainly from ONS data), the model skills plan should identify specific occupations within priority sectors where recruitment difficulties exist. Sources of published data on technical education delivering are also included in the model plan, to help pinpoint mismatches. 
• Skills gaps: In the workforce such as those related to emerging technologies, regulatory changes, or core skills like numeracy and literacy are also included within the model plan. Evidence for these gaps is collated from a range of sources. 
• System priorities: Where dysfunctions are identified in the local skills system-such as inconsistent careers advice, tutor recruitment and retention, or weak employer engagement-these should be summarised with supporting evidence to inform action. 
• Impact assessment: Finally, the model plan recommends improvements in data-not least in the tracking of learner destinations by occupation and sector-to provide better insight into the types of provision that best respond to priority occupations and sectors, creating a reliable feedback loop for continuous improvement. 

Delivering on priorities 

Identifying priorities is only half the job; much of the challenge for local partners lies in implementation. The final section of the model plan includes a structure for a roadmap for action that provides clarity of ambition and responsibilities.

This includes: 

• Defining each local skills plan priority to be addressed. 
• Listing the specific actions to be taken, from curriculum changes to employer engagement initiatives. 
• Setting measurable outcomes and realistic timescales for delivery. 
• Assigning clear ownership for each action, ensuring accountability at every step. 

This structured approach turns a plan into practice, translating data and consultation into tangible progress. 

Looking ahead 

LSIPs appear to be central to Government’s plans to develop a more collaborative post-16 system within places that responds to Local Growth Plan priorities. We hope the model local skills plan that we have developed helps ERBs, providers, local and strategic authorities to create and implement high quality local skills plans play a key role in driving growth in our local economies.  

By James Farr, Director of Think