OUR FIRST REGIONAL COMMISSIONING PLAN

The future prosperity of Yorkshire and the Humber depends on the skills and aspirations of its people, explains Margaret Coleman, Regional Director for the LSC in Yorkshire and the Humber: 

“The LSC has a clear remit from government to take the lead on the skills agenda, to provide effective planning and funding and to deliver the vision of tackling the skills deficit in this country.

“The task is to ensure that we give those national priorities a regional focus.  We are partners in the delivery of the regional Economic Strategy and work closely with the Regional Skills partnership to ensure we work together to deliver the skills for this region.  What works in the South-East, may not translate so well in this region. We need this regional approach to our work if we are to reduce the number of young people who simply opt out of any form of education or if we are to increase the skills and qualifications levels of our adult workforce.

“The future prosperity of Yorkshire and the Humber depends on the skills and aspirations of its people. A vibrant, inclusive economy can only be achieved if the learning and skills needs and demands of both individuals and employers are met by a responsive, high quality learning infrastructure. Learning is more than an end in itself. It impacts on productivity, employability and social cohesion. 

“Central to our remit is the need to work with businesses to identify skills needs at all levels: nationally, regionally and locally.  We must match those needs with delivery by working with brokers and delivery partners in the education and skills sector. Our service for employers, Train to Gain, is designed to give businesses the training they need to succeed.

“This first Regional Commissioning Plan clearly articulates what we must do to achieve our vision. This is a huge agenda and one we cannot hope to achieve on our own. Our relationships with our partners have to be based on trust and shared goals.  We aim to exercise that trust with responsibility, with commitment and with energy.” 

The Regional Commissioning Plan will be published in the new year.