A Plan Built on More Than 1,000 Conversations
Growth doesn’t stall because ambition is missing. It stalls when people can’t get hold of the right skills at the right time, and businesses can’t find the talent they need to grow.
That’s the gap the West Midlands Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) has just been signed off by government to close. Led by Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, and backed by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, Black Country Chamber of Commerce and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the plan was built on consultation with more than 1,000 employers, educators and regional stakeholders across the region.
What the Plan Actually Prioritises
According to WMCA’s announcement, the LSIP sets out six priorities for the region’s skills system, including making the system itself easier to navigate, after businesses described the current landscape as “overwhelming.” Other priorities include more modular, bite-sized training that fits around real working patterns, stronger work-readiness and foundation skills, and closing gaps in leadership and management, an area WMCA identifies as directly holding back growth.
The plan also targets two forward-facing gaps: embedding digital, data and AI skills into training provision, and building green and sustainability skills across the workforce.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said the plan responds directly to what businesses tell him is one of their biggest challenges: finding people with the right skills, particularly in fast-growing sectors like construction, advanced manufacturing, and green and medical technology.
Why This Matters Beyond the Boardroom
Skills gaps are usually talked about in terms of big employers and major sectors. But the businesses filling those gaps day to day are just as often the small, founder-led organisations and social enterprises that make up the backbone of the West Midlands economy.
That gap is well documented. Research from Social Enterprise UK found that social enterprises are significantly more representative than mainstream business, with 34% having BAME directors and 41% led by women, and 79% recruiting more than half their staff locally. These are exactly the organisations rooted in the communities the LSIP is trying to reach, and exactly the organisations that stand to gain the most from a system that’s easier to access and closer to how they actually work.
Leadership and management skills, one of the six priorities named in the plan, are consistently cited as one of the hardest gaps for smaller organisations to close alone. Larger employers can absorb the cost of specialist training and dedicated teams. Founder-led businesses and social enterprises rarely have that buffer, which makes an accessible, regional approach to skills all the more significant for the sector iSE exists to support.
Where Social Enterprises Fit Into the Picture
The LSIP’s priority areas, from construction and advanced manufacturing to health & social care and the “everyday economy,” map closely onto the sectors where West Midlands social enterprises are already active and creating impact. A clearer, more navigable skills system doesn’t just benefit large employers chasing growth targets. It benefits the founder trying to upskill their first hire, and the community organisation trying to build leadership capacity without a dedicated HR team.
At iSE, we see this gap every day. Founders come to us not because the ambition is missing, but because the path to the right training, funding, or guidance hasn’t been clear. A regional plan that puts navigation and accessibility at its centre is a meaningful step toward closing that gap for good.
Read the Full Announcement
The full Local Skills Improvement Plan announcement, including further comment from WMCA, Skills England and regional Chamber leaders, is available on the WMCA news page.
Building a Social Enterprise or Business in the West Midlands?
Whatever stage you’re at, the skills and support gap doesn’t have to hold you back. iSE offers free business advice, events and connection for founders and social enterprises across the West Midlands.
Get in touch at info@i-se.co.uk or visit www.i-se.co.uk to find out more.