South Yorkshire Chambers of Commerce to spearhead local plan to identify skills shortages in the region

Businesses are being asked to complete a short online survey to help understand the skills needed to accelerate the adoption of digital skills and reduce the skills gap felt by South Yorkshires businesses.

Barnsley & Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield Chambers of Commerce will help lead the implementation of a new skills plan to help identify the skills that businesses feel are most lacking in the workforce and what can be done to address this in the future.

The Chambers will need to collate evidence of the issues businesses in South Yorkshire face in recruiting and training their workforces to meet the technological and digital skills shortage facing their business. To do this a short online survey has been devised to help understand the skills needed for South Yorkshire’s workforce to flourish and grow in the market-leading industries in which our renowned businesses operate.

The results will also be used to shape the provision of all the training providers operating in the post-16 education and training system through collaboration with our largest higher and further education providers in South Yorkshire.

Deputy Chief Executive, Carrie Sudbury said; “This is the biggest shake-up of skills in our region in a generation, as a Chamber, we understand the importance of placing business at the centre of these conversations, so our education providers can deliver a future workforce with the skillset required to ensure that businesses in Barnsley and Rotherham can continue to innovate with the latest digital technologies to continue to grow and flourish.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for businesses in our region to have their say on which skills are holding their business back. The survey which has been put together will help us identify the gaps in the skills of the South Yorkshire workforce, so we can go back to our local higher and further education providers to deliver a future workforce fit for business. So, I implore you to get involved and together let’s transform skills in our region.”

Individuals who complete the survey will also be invited to register to take part in a 1:1 interview, to get personal opinions from businesses from across a cross-section of industries and business sizes.

The LSIP was launched on the 1^st of February 2023 and will be conducted until April 2023, the LSIP will be the biggest change to skills in South Yorkshire in a generation. The survey can be found on the Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber website and social media channels.