Cumbria Chamber of Commerce is helping the Government create a plan to improve skills across the country.
It is one of eight chambers chosen to be a trailblazer in Whitehall’s Local Skills Improvement Plan.
The aim of the plan is to put employers at the heart of local skills programmes and to explore the current state of learning and skills provision in the county, how this measures up against what employers are being offered, and what are the main strengths and weaknesses identified.
The research is also looking at the new and emerging skills provision that will be needed, especially in areas such as carbon reduction, net zero, greening and retrofit of the built economy.
Work for the LSIP is well under way and a skills survey has just been launched.
The chamber is asking employers in Cumbria to complete the short survey to highlight their skills needs and their view of the current strengths and weaknesses of skills provision in the county and potential improvements.
The 19-question survey will take under 10 minutes to complete, the chamber said. It is available here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LSIPCumbriaChamber
Suzanne Caldwell, managing director of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, said: “It’s absolutely vital to the success of this activity that employers get actively involved.
“The key aim is getting a genuinely employer-led view of current and future skills needs in the county and what training provision needs to look like to be most effective for businesses.
“At the end of the survey you’ll also get the opportunity to highlight if you’d be up for participating in a focus group and/or a one-to-one interview, which will be opportunities for more in-depth discussions.
“So, if you’re an employer, please do get involved in this really important piece of work, which is focussed on helping you.”