Built on direct engagement with employers across every sector, the LSIP maps a practical route to matching skills provision with what businesses genuinely need — so more residents can get into good work, and stay in it.
South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce is the Employer Representative Body leading the development of the Cheshire & Warrington Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP). It has been developed to ensure that employers' most pressing skills needs are reflected within the local skills system.
The aim is to ensure the current and future workforce have the necessary skills and access to local opportunities, as well being able to upskill or reskill to meet changes within industry. We also want to ensure that we can be responsive to the developing needs of employers.
A statutory plan, grounded in what employers actually said.
This Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) fulfils the requirements of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, while giving the sub-region a practical framework for aligning training with employer demand.
Cheshire and Warrington is already the most productive economy in the North of England, with real strength in advanced manufacturing, life sciences, clean energy, and business & professional services. The opportunity now is to build on that — and widen access so all residents can benefit, provided the skills system works as one coherent whole.
The LSIP works alongside the Get Cheshire and Warrington Working Plan (2026): one maps what employers need, the other removes the barriers stopping people reaching those opportunities.
Ten sectors and themes, three tiers of priority.
The greatest opportunity in every sector sits at technician and higher technical level — where stronger provision unlocks growth and opens well-paid, skilled roles.
Seven things businesses kept saying, again and again.
Employer voice needs to shape provision more consistently
Qualifications and training are struggling to keep pace with how fast technology moves in industry. Technical, digital and leadership skills matter most to employers — and that's exactly where the gap is widest.
The skills system is hard for employers — especially SMEs — to navigate
Nearly two-thirds of employers report recruitment difficulty, but cost, levy complexity and provider admin make the system hardest to navigate for smaller businesses. One local manufacturer alone holds £400,000 in unspent apprenticeship levy.
Essential business skills need to be embedded across the system
Across every sector, employers say candidates arrive without the workplace behaviours, communication and reliability that jobs require — often ranked above English and Maths. Provision for these skills remains inconsistent between training providers.
Social value commitments need clearer links to skills and progression
Strong social value commitments from major local employers don't yet translate into measurable progression routes for local people. With 40,000 new nuclear and defence jobs needed nationally by 2030, the local pipeline isn't yet structured to capture that demand.
Employers need simpler routes to engage with education
Finding the right contact, navigating GDPR and safeguarding, and justifying the time investment all put employers off engaging with schools and colleges. Better coordination would unlock significant goodwill that already exists.
More consistent messaging and provider collaboration are needed to rebuild employer confidence
Employers working across multiple sites or providers report inconsistent quality, communication and responsiveness — sometimes even between campuses of the same provider. Rebuilding trust needs a more coordinated offer across the sub-region.
Teaching expertise needs to keep pace with industry
Curriculum refresh can't always keep up with the pace of change in advanced manufacturing, clean energy and engineering, and colleges struggle to recruit teachers with recent industry experience. Industry secondments and flexible delivery close that gap where they're in place.
Six workstreams, one Activity Plan.
Full detail sits in Annex B, the live Activity Plan for 2026–2029 — delivered with Higher and Further Education, the Combined Authority, Local Authorities, the DWP, and local partners.
Strengthening employer voice
Keeping provision genuinely shaped by what businesses need.
Simplifying navigation for SMEs
Making the system easier to find and use, especially for smaller employers.
Scaling technical pathways
Growing routes at technician and higher technical level.
Embedding digital & sustainability skills
Building these into provision across every sector, not as an add-on.
Connecting people to employment
Widening access to good work for more residents.
Improving provider quality & teaching capacity
Backing the people who deliver training to match industry reality.
Combined Authority's inaugural meeting
The LSIP is designed to feed directly into its emerging Growth Plan, embedding skills into the sub-region's economic ambitions from day one.
A shared commitment, not a one-off document
Businesses, colleges, universities and local leaders continue to update the plan as evidence and employer needs evolve.
Delivery period
Six workstreams, tracked through the live Activity Plan in Annex B, with accountability held across the sub-region.
Cheshire & Warrington Local Skills Improvement Plan 2026 - 2029
Read The Full ReportCheshire & Warrington LSIP Website
Take a look at the Cheshire & Warrington LSIP website for more information about how to navigate skills training and how we can help you.
Want more information about our LSIP or need some help with your skills training, get in touch!