Priority Theme 3: INNOVATE: Data, Digital and AI Awareness
Headline need: Deliver local short/flexible training for further education students and adults to plug widening skills gaps in data, digital and AI capabilities in line with technological progressions.
Rationale: There is a critical need for refreshed short, flexible, localised training provision on three areas of digital capability; data interpretation/analytics skills to enable businesses make better data-led decisions, post16 training on the Microsoft Office suite, and an urgent need to equip SME owners with suitable and current awareness of Artificial Intelligence (AI) opportunities to aid productivity and avoid vulnerabilities. AI was the single most mentioned skills need across the primary research for this LSIP. This is due to a general low base of understanding of what AI actually is, its benefits, and associated or perceived risks.
Employer Insight: Throughout the LSIP consultation, employers and providers consistently highlighted a widening digital and AI skills gap across the Greater Lincolnshire workforce – gaps which they are highly motivated to resolve. At a literacy level, businesses report that workforce entrants need better support to be competent and confident in using the Microsoft Office Suite to a common workplace standard – Word, Outlook and Excel were most frequently stated as examples of need to build proficiency.
A step up from literacy is a fast-emerging need for workers at all levels to become armed with the ability to understand, interpret and make decisions using data generated by new customer insight and performance recording tools. Currently, these advanced data analysis skills are concentrated in a small number of senior roles. This over-reliance on managers for digital and analytical capability is constraining productivity and wider organisational development, particularly in sectors such as Agri-tech, Advanced Manufacturing and Professional Services.
Although there is growing recognition of the need to improve digital and AI literacy across the region, current provision is seen as insufficient due to the challenging pace of technological change.
Employers also raised concerns that the length of existing IT and AI courses means content risks becoming outdated before completion, limiting their relevance and impact in fast- evolving digital environments.
Headline need: Gaps in employability and essential skills across the workforce must be addressed, with particular (but not exclusive) focus on further and higher education students ahead of their entries into the local labour market and other under 25s. Provision for economically inactive 55-64 years olds in hotspots of economic inactivity and coastal areas also requires focus.
Employers – as key investors and stakeholders in this issue - must also play a greater role where possible in supporting younger workers and contributing to work readiness initiatives.
Rationale: There is an ongoing critical need to rebuild general employability skills and associated essential skills across the workforce, especially (but not solely) among younger workers. Specifically, employers need to see improvements in timekeeping, behaviour, teamworking, professional and interpersonal communications, telephone confidence, customer service and resilience in the workplace. While these needs are clearly profound and challenging employers, the feedback also points to people management training for those employers on intergenerational ways of working.
Employer Insight: Employers and providers consistently report a strong desire to support and develop their workers, maximising their talents and recognising their contributions to their businesses. However, societal shifts that were apparent during the post-Covid 2023 LSIP are persisting; employers highlighted significant gaps in core employability, communication and personal effectiveness skills among workers. Basic workplace capabilities such as handling phone calls professionally, composing business-appropriate emails and workplace collaboration often require direct employer intervention and additional support.
Concerns were raised about low resilience levels, limited attention to detail, some challenging behaviours, and arguably misaligned workplace expectations. Local providers further highlighted growing emotional, social and mental health needs among learners that they are committed to supporting despite the limitations of their resources.
Taken altogether these issues are creating barriers to progression, retention and productivity across multiple sectors and increasing the level of pastoral and remedial support required from both employers and providers.
While this could be viewed negatively, this LSIP aims to focus on this as an opportunity to build confidence, resilience and capability in workers of all ages to help them help them reach their full potential in Greater Lincolnshire.
Priority Theme 6: ACCESS: Navigation and Delivery of Training
Headline need: There is a need to make access to training simpler for local employers and learners to underpin stronger take-up of local provision. More collaboration to address these issues is required. A focus on raising the number of qualified drivers across the area is also required.
Rationale: Throughout the LSIP consultation, employers strongly called for a comprehensive and easy to navigate localised service they can access to understand what training and funding opportunities are open to them, as this is currently a critical barrier. It is also clear we must raise awareness of what training and development local providers offer via an easy-to-access service, and real need to educate SMEs on the power of apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and flexible, short courses.
Transport to training, placements and work for young workers is also critical and a currently significantly limiting issue that needs urgent action. In rural areas of Greater Lincolnshire, this “hard barrier” of transport highlights the need for more localised delivery models, ensuring that learners can access training and work-related opportunities closer to where they live.
Employer Insight: Employers and providers highlighted a range of place-based and system-level factors that are influencing consistent access to skills, training and employment.
Greater Lincolnshire’s large and rural geography continues to create transport challenges for learners and workers, particularly in occupations and sectors where driving is essential, and can make localised delivery and take-up of training more difficult, despite providers’ vast efforts.
Employers also noted challenges in identifying and navigating local training and service provision through existing online tools, alongside perceptions that some pathways, such as apprenticeships, can feel complex and hard to navigate without support (this is especially the case in micro and small enterprises). However, there is strong recognition of recent progress, with Skills Bootcamps and the 2023 LSIP impact both widely viewed as significant, innovation- driven improvements that are making training more accessible, responsive and employer-aligned.
Providers report increasingly effective collaboration between colleges that they wish to build on, a renewed commitment to meeting employer needs, and historically high levels of employer engagement and willingness to participate in skills development. Together, this presents a clear opportunity to further simplify pathways, improve visibility of local provision, and build on strong partnership working to better connect people, places and training opportunities.
Part Two: Agreed Changes and Actions Needed
This section outlines the agreed changes or actions required to address each of the key skill needs identified in Part One. Expanded details on the specific skills needs are listed in Annex A and a full list of specific activities to deliver these changes / actions can be found in Annex B.
Advanced Manufacturing Actions
5
Advanced Manufacturing employers report urgent recruitment and upskilling challenges, with both occupational shortages and workforce skills gaps constraining growth.
An ageing workforce, reduced FE delivery of basic engineering skills, lack of specialist metallurgy provision, and anticipated difficulties recruiting engineering professionals over the next three years all point to the need to increase the supply of skilled entrants, particularly young people. Employers also consistently highlight the need to strengthen Advanced Manufacturing IAG to pump prime the future workforce to be aware of career opportunities in this sector. With already established challenges in recruiting skilled Engineering Technicians and anticipated difficulties in recruiting across the sector, swift action here is needed.
6 Employers report an urgent need for new entrants to arrive with core competencies already in place. Too often employers say basic skills must be developed by them “on the job”, creating a productivity burden for SMEs and frustrating workers, who find this slows progression into more senior roles.
• Increase take-up of technical and STEM options for 16to 19-year-olds.
• Align 16 to 19 Technical education with occupational shortages in Annex A.
• Continue to grow the good base of apprenticeships at Levels 2 to 6 in the skills shortage occupations (Annex A), particularly for young people.
• Increase the number and breadth of industry placements for T-Level students, particularly within SMEs.
• Ensure alignment of HE offer at Levels 4, 5 and 6 with occupational skills shortages.
• Aim to re-establish offer in lab science, metallurgy and materials, especially in North Lincolnshire to support the workforce sustainability of British Steel.
7 Employers strongly voiced the need to play a stronger role in the design of local manufacturing courses, especially at FE level but there is an opportunity for HE providers to better engage with the area’s employers to align training with the skills employers need while improving perception of provision.
• Review and develop short- course provision with employers to ensure learners enter Advanced Manufacturing priority roles (Annex A) with core competencies in place, including foundational engineering skills, automation (PLCs, robotics), digital and data skills, diagnostics, CAD, instrumentation, advanced electronics, tooling and materials science. This should support multi-skilling, reduce SME “on the job” training burdens, but must be underpinned by stronger Advanced Manufacturing IAG that clearly signals entry requirements and progression routes.
• Priority for supervisory and management skills (See Theme 5).
• Establish a programme (in line with Action 1) to bring together larger numbers of employers with the local FE sector to tackle the perception of employers regarding their sometimes negative view of content and delivery.
• Tackle delivery capacity constraints at FE by exploring schemes to share tutors and specialist facilities, especially in tooling and CNC machining.
• Providers report barriers to addressing this employer skills need because of challenges recruiting tutors into the industry. Creation of a short-term taskforce is required to understand the scale of the challenge and exploring schemes to share tutors and specialist facilities, especially in tooling and CNC machining.
Employers from across Greater Lincolnshire, in both NHS Health and adult social care providers, wish to see an increased supply of relevant skills pumped into the local workforce, from school, college and university leavers as well as from adult learners. They voice a need for better alignment of technical education with their occupational skills gaps, a growth in relevant apprenticeships and potential bridging qualifications.
• Increase take-up of technical options for 16- to 19-year-olds.
• Ensure alignment of 16 to 19 Technical education with occupational skills shortages (Annex A).
• Explore ways to increase T-Level volumes and form partnership with NHS for placements and recruitment.
• Grow apprenticeships at Levels 2 to 6 in the skills shortage occupations particularly for young people and in line with NHS workforce plan.
• Explore the appetite among employers for a bridging qualification between Levels 2 and 5 for more senior care roles.
• Ensure alignment of adult skills provision with needs of the Health & Adult Social Care sector.
• Ensure HE provision aligns with NHS workforce plan (and other occupational requirements in Annex B) and that there will be sufficient volume.
15 Adult Social Care faces persistent recruitment and retention challenges driven by low relative pay and negative perceptions of the sector, alongside limited awareness of career pathways and progression opportunities, particularly among young people and those under 18.
16 Employers report significant gaps in the skills required to deliver safe and efficient community-based health and care services, including autonomous nursing practice, holistic care across learning disabilities and ageing populations, workforce logistics, conflict management, data and digital capability, and technical documentation such as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
17 There are challenges around under 18s securing work experience and/or placements in the Health & Social Care sector. This limits uptake of T-Levels, some apprenticeships and entry to the profession.
• Establish a working group/taskforce to explore Adult Social Care careers IAG solutions to the lack of clear pathways or placements for 16-18s and low visibility of the care sector for young people. This should be done in line with the NHS’s Workwell programme and leading sector bodies including Skills for Care and Linca.
• Develop short course programmes and/or review current course content to include provision that tackle employer’s upskilling challenges: Shortage of Pharmacists, end of life care, the “hassle factor” of taking on supervisory, management roles, rising demand for services, limited access to mandatory and specialised training, caring for older adults with complex co-morbidities (mental and physical health conditions).
• Work with Skills for Care, LINCA, Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and employers to map the barriers and identify solutions to placements and work experience due to age considerations.
Visitor Economy Actions
18 The Visitor Economy faces persistent skills shortages across both entry-level and higher-level roles due to perceived weak or unknown progression pathways, limited availability of advanced technical and professional training, and misalignment between workforce supply and occupational demand. This is most acute for Chefs (particularly Head Chefs, and other growth and foundational sectors such as Defence also voice this need), senior hospitality managers, technical roles in Arts centres, strategic marketing and commercial roles, where employers report an insufficient supply of work-ready candidates with advanced, multi- disciplinary skills.
19 Visitor Economy in Greater Lincolnshire - in coastal/seasonal businesses and year-round hospitality, arts and physical activity enterprises - face growing skills gaps in digital, technical and operational capability, including digital marketing, data use, compliance, financial management and leadership skills. The gaps are constraining productivity, customer experience and business sustainability.
20 Limited hospitality accommodation capacity in parts of the area (not just in traditional visitor economy but in Defence, Education and Construction) is constraining workforce supply for major infrastructure projects and events.
• Align 16 to 19 Technical education with occupational skills shortages (Annex A), track destinations and improve progression to related employment –specifically chefs/cooks, sports coaches and technical occupations in the arts/multi-discipline arts centres.
• Review provision of Chef/Cook courses aimed at 16- to 19-year-olds and via the Adult Skills Fund.
• Review both the current curriculum and the level of learner demand for Chef/Cook courses so could via a taskforce informed by data.
• Facilitate the development of short course programmes and/or review current course content to include provision that tackle employer’s upskilling challenges: technical and digital skills and digital marketing, social media and website management, data handling, cybersecurity awareness (See Theme 4), compliance re safeguarding, venue safety, food safety, employment law, budgeting and financial management, team leadership and people skills, customer service.
• Undertake a review of the area’s hospitality bed capacity including facilities to establish current total provision for peak times and where growth is required.
• Conduct a study on how hotel/accommodation/ hospitality businesses collaborate at key/peak times to meet current needs and where gaps persist.
Construction Actions
21 The construction sector faces persistent skills shortages due to perceived shortfalls of training into priority occupations, weak progression from Level 2 and Level 3 provision into employment and apprenticeships, and low take-up of technical pathways among 16–19-year- olds. This is particularly acute for Building Services Engineering (electrical and plumbing), multi-trade technicians and retrofit roles, and is compounded by limited adult retraining routes/funding and frustrations about the volume of apprenticeship starts vs completion rates.
• Grow Technical training take-up for 16–19-yearolds for key Construction roles (Annex A).
• Significant growth of Level 2 and Level 3 T-Levels for Building Services Engineering (BSE) for electrical and plumbing skills plus provision for indemand Multi Trade Technicians and Retrofitting.
• Align 16 to 19 Technical education with occupational skills shortages (Annex A), track destinations and improve progression to related employment, especially from Level 2 full-time trade programmes and T-Levels.
• Increase promotion of Adult Skills Fund offer to Level 2 occupations for unemployed/economically inactive/career changers.
• Establish accelerated apprenticeships for T-Level students and link to placements. Starts versus completions is already a challenge in this sector so this factor must be considered and tackled as part of this acceleration programme.
22 Skills gaps within the construction workforce–particularly in multi-trade skills, commercial awareness, digital capability, supervisory abilities, compliance and retrofit–are constraining productivity and the sector’s ability to respond to clean commercial growth opportunities, plus new energy and net zero demands.
• Review availability of short courses and employer’s own upskilling: estimating and commercial awareness, digital and AI including the use of AutoCAD, Microsoft Project, reading drawings and site plans, multi-trades for micro firms, supervisory development (See Theme 5), regulatory i.e. first aid, asbestos, abrasive wheels, confined spaces, working at height.
• Also explore training needs for clean energy for Renewables, Net Zero Awareness and Retrofitting skills.
23 Providers say that their attempts to expand T-Level pathways are challenging, particularly within electrical and plumbing roles, though pressures are evident across other trades. Constraints on time, supervision requirements, and site productivity are restricting placement growth, weakening progression into employment and apprenticeships and exacerbating skills shortages. Employers therefore require targeted support to expand placement capacity at scale.
• Providers report they are attempting to grow T Level provision but are challenged by a sharp shortfall in the volume of placements. A project to explore programmes to engage construction employers to help grow their capacity (and willingness) to take on T-Level industry placements for key roles (Annex A) is required.
Outcome: More young people and adults progress into adult social care roles and more uptake of middle and senior care management positions to stem churn in the profession by summer 2029. The shortfall of L2 and L3 trained Chefs is also addressed in the same timeframe. A rise in the number of Construction Apprenticeships and cross-county provision of L2 Trades, L3 Craft/Technician roles and L4-5 Higher Technical Supervisor roles in Construction should also be achieved by summer 2029.
Priority Theme 3: INNOVATE: Data, Digital and AI Awareness
Data, Digital and AI Awareness Actions
24 Gaps in entry, progression and reskilling pathways into priority digital occupations, especially for young people and workers aged 55+, are restricting workforce supply.
25 Employers say that new entrants are not equipped to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by rapid technological evolution. This is creating digital and data skills gaps across the workforce, not just in digital and technology roles.
26 SME employers report quickly emerging skills gaps in understanding and safely applying AI within their business operations. Limited awareness of what AI is, how it can improve productivity, and how to manage ethical, commercial and data/commercial security risks, including issues such as bias, AI hallucinations and confidentiality, are holding back enterprises from confidently adopting and effective use of AI.
Across the entirety of the LSIP primary research, this need was the single most cited need voiced by employers.
27 Demand for AI, data and advanced digital skills across Greater Lincolnshire is outstripping the availability of provision, limiting employers’ ability to adopt new technologies. It also presents a barrier to maximising the benefits of North Lincolnshire’s AI Growth Zone designation.
• Align 16 to 19 Technical education with occupational skills shortages (Annex A)
• Explore ways to increase grow T-Level volumes for occupational skills shortages (Annex A)
• Digital ‘Top Up’ training at Levels 3 to 5 for those who have already been supported by a funded qualification
• Align HE offer at Levels 3, 4, 5 and 6 with occupational skills shortages
• Explore community-based digital skills provision for those aged 55+
• Review availability of short courses and provision for employer’s to upskill in: AI, data understanding/interpretation/analysis skills, databases, digital automation tools, cyber security, accessibility rules, Microsoft Office suite
• Explore current and future (where possible) employer needs around use of AI programmes and what training their businesses really need at a granular level. Employers want shorter (1-2 day) courses for this type of skills need.
• Explore innovative ways to meet employer demand for digital, data, AI and cyber related provision and funding gaps. Key focus must be: AI, data understanding/interpretation/analysis skills, databases, digital automation tools, cyber security, accessibility rules, Microsoft Office suite as a minimum.
Outcome: Employers access flexible, modular upskilling that boosts data, digital and AI capabilities across the workforce.
28 The ‘Soft Skills’ deficit was highlighted as a major challenge by employers in the primary research conducted at the start of the 2023-26 LSIP cycle and this has not gone away. Weaknesses here in communications, teamwork, timekeeping, resilience, oracy, independence and telephone skills continue to damage productivity, staff retention and growth.
25% of all employers indicated that they are ‘Very likely’ to source external training relating to transferable skills over the next three years.
29 Employers voiced a clear need for a simple reference point to understand an applicant’s work readiness as recruitment is proving costly, time consuming and frustrating.
• Continue to strengthen employability and essential skills modules in all post-16 training and education.
• This is a long term and national problem. Explore available research on why existing approaches and training is not working in Greater Lincolnshire and consider developing a new localised approach.
• In partnership with the Greater Lincolnshire Careers Hub, develop work experience and placement programmes with a wider breadth of employers
• Post-16 training institutions and Job Centre Plus should further collaborate – with input from employers, ERBs, sector and trade bodies plus worker representatives – to explore the potential and value of a Greater Lincolnshire Skills Passport scheme.
• Explore how a wide range of employers would prefer to see applicants describing their readiness for work and if/where they require evidence in the future.
30 Inter-generational differences are causing friction in workplaces. Specifically these challenges are around younger entrants to the workforce’s expectations on progression and rewards and behaviours in the workplace.
• Explore the viability and impact of a Greater Lincolnshire (perhaps place based) programme to bring younger and senior workers together to learn about each other’s work-based expectations and experiences should be developed to maximise the strengths of all agegroups and their generational traits.
31 Employers vociferously remark that younger or less-experienced workers are unready for work during their first few months of employment, resulting in protracted “hand holding” activities that are mutually unrewarding and demotivating.
• Build on previous pilots locally to develop a programme that supports employers to plan and develop their workforce, including inducting their staff to standardise the experience of starting and succeeding in work and mitigate disparate and time-consuming approaches to readying new employees to become operational in their roles quicker. Also expand to aid employers to experience more success in recruitment, induction, upskilling, retention and succession planning activities.
• Post-16 training institutions should review their Careers Advice and Guidance and employability programme delivery in line with LSIP’s priorities and actions/activities and ensure it follows best practice and provides learners with information about key local sectors as set out in Priority Themes 1 and 2.
Outcome: Young workers are armed with skills that help them feel more confident in the workplace and local employers report a marked improvement in employability and essential skills by summer 2029. Employers in key sectors report they are equipped with a succession plan by the end of the same timeframe.
Priority Theme 5: EMPOWER: People Management Skills
People Management Skills - Actions
32 People Management skills have been flagged as needing improvement across the area and in multiple sectors. Those entering or established in People Manager roles require short and accessible training to operate as effective and equipped People Managers.
33 Employers ask for support in improving their awareness, understanding of and training about the unfolding Employment Rights Act, as this prospect is causing fear and reticence to create/ replace roles across the labour market
34 Employers report worsening skills gaps in people-management capability, particularly among first-line people managers, limiting workforce performance, retention and progression. Deficits stated in a number of areas including interpersonal and communication skills, conflict management, managing health-related adjustments, leading multi- generational teams, and succession planning, highlighting the need to strengthen practical people-management skills across the workforce.
35 Employers say that they are not successful in progressing workers to more senior roles due to narrow pay versus responsibility margins.
• Review local demand and provision of existing People Management courses in light of changing generational expectations of work, the Employment Rights Act, increased financial pressure on SMEs and a desire to retain talent in growing firms.
• Develop a Greater Lincolnshire short course on the Employment Rights Act, aimed at SME Managers and family firms.
• Investigate potential for targeted ILM or CIPD courses in key sectors and scale-up businesses.
• Review availability of short courses that can be provided in priority sectors where progression to more senior roles is providing a challenge (i.e. this is especially acute in Food Manufacturing and Adult Social Care) to address these skills gaps.
• Employers to improve incentives, pay grades and ways to reduce barriers to becoming supervisors in Priority sectors.
Outcome: Providers have explored ways to deliver accessible “short” courses across Greater Lincolnshire on specific people management skills, making reasonable adjustments, having challenging conversations and the Employment Rights Act 2025. Provision should be rolled out by autumn 2027.
Outcome: Employers have access to a new localised training service that boosts the uptake of post16 technical training by summer 2029. Transport issues for the under 25s have been reviewed with suitable and targeted interventions in place. Finally a formalised collaboration of providers which builds on the success of the 2023 LSIF programme to include employers in co-designing provision and other training interventions.
Combined Actions Across All Themes
40 Employers and providers report that progression from 16–19 full-time provision into relevant employment in priority sectors is inconsistent and unclear, limiting the effective supply of young people into skills-shortage occupations. A lack of understanding and visibility of learner destinations is constraining progression, completion and entry into the workforce.
• A project to explore methods, costs and impact of tracking progression from priority sectorrelated (Themes 1 and 2) 16-19 full time courses into a relevant job role.
Outcome: Improved visibility and understanding of learner destinations, alongside increased availability of Level 2–3 apprenticeships in priority sectors, leading to stronger progression from 16–19 provision into sustained employment and a stronger pipeline of young people entering skills-shortage roles over the long term.
13 Labour Market Profile - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics - UK Business Counts (2025)
14 https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/ regionallabourmarket/april2026 Table 1 Summary of the latest headline estimates and quarterly changes
