About the LSPA

Photo: Trevor Cartwright, Robert Hillier, Peter Grant and John Parsonage The LSPA has continued to develop as an organisation, responding to business skills needs and keeping the public sector aware of what issues need to be addressed. More members have joined the LSPA and at a local level, the development of local skills alliance groups is driving changes at a grass-roots level. In the year ahead, we will continue to ensure the LSPA local groups have a strong voice and that dialogue between businesses and the public sector remains a two-way street.

Public sector training offers for businesses are not always easy to grasp. The LSPA will continue to work with employers and their networks to help raise awareness of the assistance that is available to them through programmes such as, Train to Gain and Apprenticeships Online, as well as the range of business support available through Business Link.

LSPA Manager, Peter Grant, explains:

“Our approach is unique. Employers have the opportunity to directly influence and comment on skills issues affecting their businesses. Through the LSPA key decision makers from the public sector and employers openly discuss what works and what is needed in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Undoubtedly the workforce of 2020 will be very different from the workforce today, in terms of skills levels and employment opportunities. Therefore, both private and public sector must ensure supply and demand are equally balanced.”

“Just as importantly we need to ensure businesses are aware of what the public sector can offer them. Often, it can be a complex jigsaw of who to talk to and what is available.”

“For all these reasons the LSPA will continue to work with employers and public sector agencies to support our local economy and particularly the acquisition of skills locally.”

What is the LSPA?

The Local Skills for Productivity Alliance is a Hampshire and Isle of Wight partnership of employers and public sector agencies. Its main aim is to deliver funding and training services that employers really want. The LSPA also aims to ensure that businesses can grasp the opportunities for skills support available from the public sector.
Many businesses already use colleges and training providers to improve the skills of their employees. The LSPA plays a vital role in helping employers to go one step further by accessing and making the most of publicly funded training provision.
The LSPA is made up of employer representatives, public sector partners and is led by a Steering Group directed by employers.

LSPA public sector partners are:

  • South East England Development Agency
  • Business Link Wessex
  • Jobcentre Plus
  • The Learning and Skills Council for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

Employer members of the Skills Alliance are representatives from key sectors including:

  • Manufacturing
  • Advanced engineering
  • Retail
  • Construction
  • Logistics
  • Information technology
  • Tourism
  • Business Services
  • Marine

“Businesses are challenging presumptions about training, identifying common skill shortages, and influencing the design of training programmes. Government partners are providing both practical and financial support. The LSPA has worked tirelessly to involve business people from the start and to ensure that employers’ skills needs remain center stage.”

Robert Hiller, OBE, Chairman of LSPA