The Skills Investment Plan produced through Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership has been designed to help more local people gain the qualifications they need to access jobs.

Drawn up in consultation with local employers and education and training institutions, it aims to improve skills levels, increase the county’s workforce and assist employers in developing workforce development solutions.

The plan focuses on key sectors within the Cumbrian economy, including health and social care, advanced manufacturing, nuclear, construction, logistics, and the rural and visitor sectors.

As each of these industries and others continue to grow, the number and type of jobs in Cumbria is likely to outstrip the current projected workforce in terms of both its size and skills levels.

Cumbria LEP aims to help the county upskill the local population to meet future employment needs as much as possible with ‘home grown’ talent.

In practice, this means working towards ambitious but realistic targets for the next five years: for example a 20 per cent increase in apprenticeships.