The Local Plan That’s Already Working

As policymakers prepare for the next evolution of Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), many in the education and skills sector are asking the same question and that is, how do we move from theory to action?

The Gatsby Foundation’s recent publication, A Model Local Skills Plan, offers a strong solution. It lays out a sensible approach to planning skills provision that responds to employer need, supports economic growth, and is shaped by what is really going on locally. Its emphasis on employer voice, data-driven diagnosis, and collaborative delivery is a move from reactive education systems to co-ordinated, proactive skills strategies.

While some areas of industry are just beginning to work out what this looks like in practice, one sector has already been putting it into action with powerful results.

A Quiet Vanguard

The sport and physical activity sector may not be the first that comes to mind when you think of economic strategy or technical education reform. Yet its recent work on local skills planning demonstrates a blueprint for how entire sectors can align themselves with the Gatsby model.

Local Skills Accountability Boards (LSABs)

Supported by Sport England and the National Lottery, the sector has launched a nationwide local skills project underpinned by the creation of Local Skills Accountability Boards (LSABs). These boards bring together local authorities, combined authorities, employers, training providers, and strategic partners to shape workforce plans that are responsive, inclusive and sustainable.

The results so far are very strong, and the impact extends well beyond this one sector.

From Data to Delivery

Gatsby’s framework outlines three essential components for a successful local skills plan. They are: understanding the local context, identifying priorities, and setting out deliverable actions. Across all three of these, the sport and physical activity sector is not just aligning, it’s leading.

Understanding local economies and workforce needs

At the heart of this approach is the value of granular level insight. The sector has invested in national and hyperlocal data, using economic analysis, workforce mapping, employer consultations and diagnostic tools to understand what’s happening on the ground.

In the Liverpool City Region, for instance, the LSAB worked with the combined authority to map workforce shortages against local health needs. The result? A clear picture of where physical activity roles, like exercise referral professionals or community coaches, could directly support public health, and where recruitment barriers existed, particularly in deprived areas.

This is Gatsby’s vision of “intelligent diagnosis” in action, where sector-specific insight meets place-based strategy.

Identifying The Real Gaps: Shortages vs Upskilling

One of the biggest challenges facing LSIPs has been distinguishing between job shortages and skills gaps. The sport and physical activity sector’s solution? A robust Professional Standards Framework designed by employers that defines each role, its competencies, required qualifications, and pathways for progression.

This framework enables local skills development plans to separate the need for more people (eg. more qualified lifeguards) from the need to upskill existing staff (eg. fitness professionals developing expertise in mental wellbeing or clinical populations).

It’s a structured, employer-led way of clarifying local needs and one that could be adapted to other sectors struggling with similar levels of complexity.

Turning Plans Into Partnerships

Perhaps most significantly, the sector has shown how to move from insight to impact.

In areas such as Devon, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire and the West of England, LSABs have worked with local education and training providers to co-develop workforce action plans. These plans include:

• Targets for growing priority occupations and skillsets
• Curriculum redesign and new qualifications
• Employer pledges for work placements, mentoring and recruitment
• Partnerships between education, local government, employers and health bodies

These aren’t static strategy documents, they are live, delivery roadmaps with clear responsibilities, timelines and evaluation built in which are now being implemented which is exactly what the Gatsby model outlines.

Tackling Systemic Barriers And Not Just Filling Vacancies

While many local plans in the past have focused on filling immediate gaps, the sport and physical activity sector has gone further by confronting the local and national structural issues that hold back workforce development.

These include:

• Data visibility – timely labour market data is being shared with ERBs and providers, enabling evidence-led decisions on skills priorities.

• Education to employment transition – the sector is improving alignment between education provider and employer needs, ensuring that qualifications match real jobs.

• Careers engagement – pathways into the sector are being promoted to school leavers, those not in education, employment or training, jobseekers, through a partnership with DWP, and adults seeking career change.

• Professional recognition – a system of professional status is enhancing the credibility of roles, aiding recruitment and progression.

Gatsby calls for LSIPs to focus more on learner outcomes and destination tracking. The sector is already doing this using data from endorsed training providers to track learners into employment, monitor retention, and support long-term career development and professional status growth.

More Than Movement

The work being done in sport and physical activity is not niche, it’s foundational. The sector contributes not only to economic output, but to public health, wellbeing, social cohesion and youth aspiration. A healthy, active population underpins productivity and growth in every other industry.

More importantly, the way this sector is engaging with skills planning offers a model for others.

It’s a model where employers shape, not just influence, education and skills development provision and priorities.

The Gatsby Foundation’s Model Local Skills Plan has landed at just the right time. With new LSIPs due from 2026, and the formation of Skills England, there is real opportunity to build skills systems that are agile, inclusive and grounded in local and regional place.

So if the goal is to move beyond theoretical models, we must look to where these ideas are already taking shape.

The sport and physical activity sector may not have been the loudest voice in education reform, but it has been one of the most effective. Its approach is evidence-based, collaborative and scalable. It shows how sectors can take responsibility for their workforce, align with public priorities, and turn policy ambition into real-world impact.

Spencer Moore, Chief Strategy Officer, CIMSPA
Spencer Moore is responsible for the sport and physical activity sector’s workforce development strategy, professional standards and educational development. Spencer has previously been Head of Curriculum within FE/HE and has led education and training development within leading sports sector bodies.