The Rise of Employer-Led Education: How Schools Can Prepare for Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs)
What do LSIPs mean?
Education and employment are becoming more connected than ever before.
The government’s Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are reshaping how schools, colleges, and employers collaborate, creating a more responsive, data-driven, and locally aligned skills system.
While LSIPs sit within the post-16 landscape, their ripple effects reach deep into secondary education. For schools and colleges, this shift signals a new era of employer-led learning, one where careers education, curriculum planning, and work experience all play a vital role in preparing young people for regional growth sectors.
This blog explores what LSIPs are, what they mean for schools, and how you can begin aligning your careers and work experience strategy to meet this new expectation.
How to understand LSIPs?
Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are three-year, employer-led blueprints for local skills delivery.
Each plan identifies current and future skills shortages and sets out clear priorities for training and curriculum development across a defined area.
Their aim is simple but ambitious: to ensure that education and training provision, from school pathways to apprenticeships and higher technical qualifications, directly meets employer demand and local labour-market needs.
Under the model outlined in the government’s Post-16 Education & Skills White Paper, LSIPs form part of a joined-up skills system alongside Skills England and local Strategic Authorities. Together, they bring employers and educators into closer partnership to address skills gaps and strengthen local economies.
Who’s involved, and where do schools and colleges fit in?
At the centre of each LSIP is a Designated Employer Representative Body (ERB), such as a Chamber of Commerce or sector-based employer group.
ERBs lead consultation with local employers, collect labour-market evidence, and publish an LSIP report identifying priority sectors and skills.
From there:
- Further Education providers (colleges, sixth forms, and training providers) align their course offer to LSIP priorities.
- Employers co-design occupational standards, contribute to curriculum content, and increasingly act as co-investors in training.
- Local Authorities, Strategic Authorities, and Careers Hubs use LSIP insights to inform wider skills and economic plans.
For schools and academies, LSIPs signal the need to strengthen employer partnerships earlier, connecting Key Stage 3 and 4 careers provision with the growth sectors and pathways shaping their local area.
Why do LSIPs matter for schools and colleges?
LSIPs reinforce the message that employer collaboration is no longer optional, it’s integral to modern education.
This shift has several key implications:
- Curriculum relevance: Subjects and projects can be linked to local growth sectors, helping students see the “why” behind their learning.
- Employer encounters: Careers Leaders will need to integrate more meaningful encounters that reflect LSIP priority areas, especially at KS3 and KS4.
- Work experience planning: Placements and projects can be designed to mirror regional industry demand, supporting both Gatsby Benchmark 6 and Ofsted’s expectations for meaningful experiences.
- Data and evidence: Schools will be expected to demonstrate outcomes, not just activity, aligning with the wider move toward evidence-based, measurable impact across the skills system.
What do employer co-investment and new partnerships involve?
The Skills White Paper sets a clear ambition: employers should shape, invest in, and benefit from local talent pipelines.
This means that schools and colleges have an opportunity to build sustainable, mutually beneficial partnerships, moving beyond ad-hoc encounters to strategic collaboration.
Employers are not just advisers; they are co-designers of learning experiences and co-investors in skill development.
This deeper partnership approach can create new opportunities for:
- Joint curriculum design
- Long-term work experience pipelines
- Employer-led projects and mentoring
- Shared accountability for learner outcomes
What are the practical steps schools can take now?
While LSIPs are still evolving, there’s much schools can do this academic year to start aligning with local priorities.
- Identify your local LSIP: Find out which Employer Representative Body (ERB) leads in your area and read their published LSIP. Most are available through Chambers of Commerce or Combined Authority websites.
- Form an internal LSIP group: Bring together your careers leader, curriculum leads, and data staff to review your current employer engagement plan.
- Map provision to LSIP priorities: Create a simple overview of your current provision, subjects, placements, and encounters, mapped against regional growth sectors and skills gaps.
- Engage your Careers Hub: Connect with your local Careers Hub for updates and support. They’re working closely with LSIP leads and can help link your provision to wider employer networks.
- Integrate LSIP themes into work experience: Align placements, projects, and employer encounters with sectors highlighted in your LSIP. This ensures your programme supports both career readiness and local economic priorities.
Why do digital systems matter?
As accountability strengthens, manual tracking and spreadsheets won’t suffice.
Schools and colleges will need reliable systems to coordinate placements, record encounters, and evidence outcomes in line with Gatsby Benchmarks and LSIP priorities.
The Changing Education Group’s Work Experience Suite is designed precisely for this:
- Seamless coordination of placements and employer contacts
- Automated risk assessments and safeguarding
- Real-time data dashboards for Careers Leaders and Hubs
- Evidence and impact tracking for Ofsted and governors
By connecting schools, employers, and local authorities through one platform, it supports a truly joined-up approach to modern work experience and employer engagement.
Final thoughts
Local Skills Improvement Plans mark a major step forward for employer-led education.
They challenge us to think differently, to design pathways that genuinely prepare young people for the industries shaping their future.
By acting now, reviewing provision, strengthening partnerships, and adopting smarter systems, schools can position themselves as trusted local partners and ensure every learner benefits from meaningful, future-focused opportunities.
How confident are you that your work experience programme aligns with your local LSIP priorities?
Now is the time to connect your strategy with the skills system of tomorrow.