Business West and Somerset Chamber of Commerce to deliver new Somerset Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP)

Business West Chambers of Commerce and Somerset Chamber of Commerce are pleased to announce that they will be working in partnership to deliver the new Somerset Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP).

Business West has been delivering LSIPs since the Trailblazer project in 2021 and adds Somerset to existing designations for the West of England and North Somerset, Gloucestershire and Swindon and Wiltshire. 

Somerset Chamber has also been delivering the previously combined Devon & Somerset LSIP.  

This new joint approach strengthens engagement across sectors, enabling a coordinated and impactful response to the region’s skills priorities.  

Matt Tudge, Head of Skills at Business West said: “This partnership will bring together our combined expertise, networks, and regional insight, ensuring that the voices of local employers are at the heart of skills planning, shaping provision to meet the current and future needs of Somerset’s economy.”

David Crew, Managing Director of Somerset Chamber of Commerce, said: “Our daily conversations with businesses indicate that skills and accessing talent to grow remains a key issue for the majority of Somerset firms and this exciting new partnership with our Chamber colleagues at Business West will ensure we can continue to put employers at the heart of the skills agenda.

“The Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) is central to delivering a skills agenda which is fit for both education providers and employers, as well as learners, and will help to ensure learners have the skills needed by our local businesses to enable firms to operate efficiently and effectively.”

Ronnie Carter, LSIP Executive and Projects Manager at Devon Chamber commented, “We are proud to have collaborated on the Devon & Somerset LSIP to date and to have worked with businesses and partners across both counties on such an important agenda. The decision to now separate the Devon and Somerset LSIPs is a positive step, enabling each area to focus more closely on its local priorities and ambitions, while still contributing to the wider regional skills picture. 

We wish our colleagues at Business West and Somerset Chamber every success as they take forward the Somerset LSIP, and we look forward to maintaining momentum in Devon as the new cycle begins in October.”

Until the new LSIPs are formally published, the current arrangements remain in place and existing commitments continue as normal. 

The next iteration of the Local Skills Improvement Plans is due to start from 1st October. Stay tuned for how you can get involved.