A newly created employer-led panel of notable representatives from the South East will pool their knowledge and expertise on skills and labour market needs to help plan for future skills and deliver results with employers at the forefront, working closely alongside the National Careers Service and Careers Enterprise Company.
The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has launched its new Skills Advisory Panel (SAP), established in October 2019 to strengthen the link between public and private sector employers, local authorities, colleges, providers, universities and the voluntary sector, headed up by Chair Colette Bailey.
Bailey – a SELEP board member – is the CEO and Artistic Director of Metal, an organisation that transforms buildings of historic significance from empty or derelict spaces into vibrant cultural community hubs, with bases in Southend, Liverpool and Peterborough. Other business members joining the drive include representatives from Stansted Airport, DP World, EDF, Berry Gardens, Morgan Sindall, HSBC, Hilton Group, Screen South and Social Enterprise Kent.
The SAP represents a major opportunity to push forward further change and deliver results with employers at the forefront. It is reflective of growth sectors and will be informed by the South East LEP’s Skills Strategy and Evidence Base already in place. This has already informed work such as a tutor bursary programme and Digital Skills Partnership pilot.
The panel will be supported by an analytical toolkit produced in partnership with the Department for Education, which is leading the national establishment of SAPs. The toolkit sets out quality standards and a framework to enable consistent in-depth analysis of local skills systems, allowing SAPs to build evidence on local skills needs and inform local industrial strategies.
SAP Chair Colette Bailey said:
“I’m so pleased to be chairing this new South East LEP Skills Advisory Panel (SAP). We have an amazing set of employers involved and from all our growth sectors. All of us share an ambition and drive to really make a difference and by working together I feel sure we can deliver great things.
“In the short term, it’s important that we take time to understand the skills shortages and opportunities and the SAP analytical toolkit being produced to support us will be invaluable. We’re committed to sharing this as widely as possible and to reaching out to the local business community more widely so look out for events next year!”
To find out more about the SAP, click here.