Hampshire Chamber of Commerce recognises that our business community depends on a skilled workforce. As part of our ongoing commitment to strengthening the Hampshire and Solent economy, we are inviting businesses to take part in a new Skills Survey.
As the designated Employer Representative Body (ERB) leading the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), funded by the Department for Education, this survey acts as skills landscape review of current workforce needs, including emerging requirements around AI, digital, technical, and wider vocational skills.
The survey is one part of a business and technical skills mapping project, which aims to capture detailed insights from businesses and key stakeholders-both individually and in groups to articulate employers’ skills needs and inform the next phase of the LSIP report due to be published summer 2026.
The findings will inform:
• Improvements to local technical and vocational training
• Future Chamber-led skills workshops and engagement activity
• Development of the LSIP 2026 report
The 5–10-minute survey covers:
• Business skills needs’
• Experiences with training providers
• Employer–Education Collaboration
Your perspective is essential to ensuring local skills initiatives reflect real business needs.
Survey Closes: Friday 30 January 2026.
Ross McNally, Chief Executive and Executive Chair of Hampshire Chamber emphasises the importance of filling in this survey:
“It is so important that your needs are fully reflected in the refreshed 2026 Hampshire and Solent LSIP. To help us ensure your business is more able to recruit the skills to drive your growth please complete this survey. We will take your responses forward into our LSIP planning, shaping skills provision for the next three years.”
Minister for Skills, Baroness Jacqui Smith says:
“Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are critical for developing the skilled workforce Hampshire and the Solent needs. I’m delighted that the second wave of LSIPs is currently underway and I encourage businesses to engage with Hampshire Chamber of Commerce to articulate their skills needs and work with the strategic authority and local skills providers, including colleges and local universities, to develop solutions to address them.”
Please complete LSIP Skills Survey here
If you have any questions, or wish to discuss this activity further, please get in touch with our LSIP team via email: lsip@hampshirechamber.co.uk.
About Hampshire Chamber of Commerce
Hampshire Chamber of Commerce is the independent voice of local business across the county and one of the largest regional business networks in the UK. With a strategic vision to ‘unlock Hampshire’s potential’, Hampshire Chamber brings together the combined influence, strength and expertise of the county’s three former major chambers. It works with over 2,000 individual firms spanning all sectors and sizes of business. Member services include training, advice, international trade documentation, events, networking opportunities and lobbying to policymakers on issues affecting business. Hampshire Chamber’s business network is designed to help any employer to grow and thrive irrespective of their stage on the enterprise journey.