The Bedford College Group is hosting a series of Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) events run by Chambers of Commerce in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.
On Thursday March 23rd at meeting was held at Central Beds College in Kingsway, Dunstable, which recently joined The Bedford College Group.
The Chair of The Bedford College Group Board of Governors Allan Schofield and Chair of the Beds Chamber of Commerce Richard Cooper joined local business owners in sharing ideas.
Said Mr Schofield: “We need to take a long term view of how we strategically develop the skills needed for the future.”
Director of Business Development at the Group, Gina Bubbins said: “We’re looking forward to doing great things here in Central Beds with employers and these LSIP meetings are an important part of that work.”
On Monday March 20th employers from a range of sectors in Northants attended Tresham College in Corby, part of The Bedford College Group, and heard how the LSIP events would feed back information to the Government about what changes were needed in FE to meet skills demands.
Said Robin Webber-Jones, Principal of Tresham College said: “Our links with locally-based companies, large and small is already good, but we recognise that improvements need to be made across the whole employer-education section.
“Hopefully these events will lead to Local Skills Improvement Funding which can support close links between teachers and trainers and industry and employers.”
A further LSIP event is being held in Northants on March 28th at the Wellingborough campus of Tresham College. Any businesses interested in attending can register via: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/559513579177
From these meetings information will be channelled to the Department for Education to shape plans for future funding. So far 2,000 comments from employers across the SEMLEP region of Beds, Northants and MK have been collected.
