The South East Midlands is a rapidly growing and innovative economy. The area offers a unique labour market with the diversity of business types and education, coupled with a growing population.
In July 2019, SEMLEP published the area’s Local Industrial Strategy. The strategy looks at the successes and strengths of our area and identifies priorities and interventions to realise innovation, further improve connectivity and, achieve growth that is sustainable, inclusive and makes a positive impact on our environment.
Within the strategy, the skills needs of employers, and the development of our skills are highlighted as one of the five foundations of productivity. Some of our strengths are:
According to the 2019 SEMLEP Business Survey, skills remain a key issue for local businesses and a lack of skilled labour remains one of the top constraints on growth, although the situation is moving in a positive direction:
– 39% of businesses had vacancies in the last 12 months
– 18% had hard-to-fill vacancies
– 25% reported a skills gap amongst current staff
– 20% said they found skills shortages amongst potential recruits when trying to fill vacancies
SEMLEP’s Growing people skills plan was published in 2017. The plan sets out how we can achieve lifelong skills development by working with businesses, educators, agencies and local authority partners.
The key aims of the plan are to:
How can you help?
The Skills Advisory Panel is creating reports that detail the current skills gaps within different business sectors. The aim of these reports is to help guide training providers, based on current employer needs. Businesses are invited to input into these plans, which can be found here. Should you have any comments or feedback, email [email protected].
Alongside this, we are looking for businesses who can give an hour of their time to a local school or college. Your unique insight into the business environment can help inspire the future generation.