DELIVERING FOR EMPLOYERS

While the College already has extensive employer engagement, with the creation and delivery of our curriculum we intend to further strengthen these relationships over the next 12 months in line with the intention of the Skills for Jobs White paper of 2021.

We recognise the Local Skills Improvement Plan for the Heart of the South West (HotSW) as a historic opportunity to formally place employers at the heart of defining local skills needs – and we will fully embrace this. Our commitment to this process can be seen through the first four strategies identified in this document which align with the core priorities from the LSIP: blue skills (marine engineering and maritime), green skills (green construction, green energy and sustainability), health and digital.

Over the next 12 months we will continue to work with the Devon & Plymouth Chamber of Commerce as the Employer Representative Body for the LSIP to address the priorities identified, develop and deliver new curriculum to meet demand in each of the defined areas.

Alongside this, we will also build on the outcomes from the Strategic Development Fund (SDF) for the HotSW which focussed on aligning the curriculum with employers and on addressing the challenges of meeting both the skills gaps and the need for new talent across SMEs. To do this we have aligned the priorities identified in the LSIP with progress already made through the SDF ensuring a comprehensive response to employer skills needs in designing our curriculum offer.

In addition to these key activities, the College will continue to partner with key employers across the region to support key skills needs and workforce planning through curriculum initiatives. We will deliver a range of provision including skills academies and Skills Bootcamps to meet needs across the marine, health, blue economy including visitor economy, digital and green construction areas aligned with the LSIP, as well as ones in logistics aligned to the emerging Freeport skills needs.