Changes to the skills strategy for the South East Midlands aim to put the needs of business first and foremost at the head of skills provision.

The South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership has put together a five-point priority action plan in response to a changing employment market and the skills mismatches being reported by businesses around the region.

The new plan advocates change across the spectrum of education and training provision available and will build on previous investment. The actions aim to connect the different approaches to developing and strengthening the talent pipeline of people aged from eight to 68 and places attention on the occupations in demand today, whilst planning for the workforce of the future.

Activities include:

Informing: Putting greater emphasis on collecting and sharing information on the current local labour market to help people, especially young people, make more informed decisions about their job options.

Inspiring: By sharing experiences, supporting employers to interact more with their future workforce and promoting the variety of different pathways available in helping people develop meaningful careers.

Investing: Joining up investment in facilities, programmes and business support to enable a coordinated response to the different skills needs of business.

The plan is the second to be published by SEMLEP’s Skills Advisory Panel after talks with local business owners who are currently facing issues with recruiting and retaining employees. The plan draws from the results of a SEMLEP business survey of more than 1,800 local businesses as well as the latest analysis of economic data and trends for the South East Midlands economic area.

Skills Advisory Panel chair Pat Brennan-Barrett said: “By working together with multiple agencies responsible for education and skills, government, businesses, young people and their families, we can connect both employers to learners and, crucially, skills provision to the needs of businesses.”

Job vacancies in the South East Midlands logistics sector have risen by 87 per cent in 18 months. Digital-related job vacancies are up by 50 per cent.

The reasons behind the figures are national policy changes affecting training and provision, the UK leaving the European Union, an aging population and rapid growth in certain sectors, said Paul Thompson, SEMLEP’s employment and skills manager.

“These all point to the need for greater collaboration and flexibility from people with interests in employment and skills to address the changing needs of employers and individuals,” he added.

Ms Brennan-Barrett, who is principal and chief executive of Northampton College, said: “The aim of this annual plan and of the wider activities of the Skills Advisory Panel is to help put data-led and evidence from employers at the heart of the national and local skills systems to create a better future for us all.”

Local councils, skills providers and businesses have already done much to identify and raise the profile of skills needs, provision and requirements for today’s economy and those predicted for the future.

Richard Osborne, founder and chief executive of Blisworth-based Business Data Group and a volunteer business enterprise adviser for SEMLEP, said: “We live in an exciting part of the country full of potential. But are we doing enough to inspire and inform our young people about the skills they need, or the opportunities and the pathways available to them?

“I think the answer to this question is that we need to do more.

“As this area looks to business growth, we must create the workforce able and capable of fulfilling our local business opportunity.”

Read the full Skills Plan, including an overview of current support programmes and investments in skills available to businesses and individuals who live and work in the South East Midlands, at https://www.semlep.com/south-east-midlands-skills-strategy/