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Business-Led ‘Road Map’ Launched To Boost Hampshire’s Workplace



A three-year, business-led ‘road map’ has been launched to narrow skills gaps in the workplace, spotlight training opportunities including for NEETs and boost Hampshire’s regional economy.


Commissioned by Hampshire Chamber of Commerce in partnership with firms, education providers, policymakers, charities and the public sector, the Hampshire and The Solent Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) 2026-29 builds on detailed research to identify four top priorities for action.


These are summarised as: a more responsive and inclusive ‘skills ecosystem’; more support for workforce ‘progression and transitions’; stronger awareness and access for employers and residents alike; and deeper employer participation.


Ross McNally, Hampshire Chamber Chief Executive, said:

“The LSIP is deliberately employer-focused to ensure that skills training works better for businesses of all sizes and sectors. In the research stage, employers - especially SMEs - consistently told us they want a skills system that is easy to access, flexible and has the capacity to enable genuine employer participation opportunities rather than simple engagement.”

NEETs, the widely recognised acronym for young people typically aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training, face particular barriers to acquiring skills and participating in work, the LSIP research report found.


Issues cited include youth disengagement driven by lower confidence, higher anxiety, limited networks and reduced access to early work experience.


In Hampshire, 35.2% of young people are at risk of becoming NEET, well above the national average of 28.2%, highlighting the scale of vulnerability across the region.


Under the government’s rollout of LSIPs nationally, Hampshire Chamber is the official ‘employer representative body’ (ERB) for Hampshire and The Solent.


The new plan strengthens the delivery of priorities and foundations set out in two previous LSIPs, one covering the Solent, the other focused on the ‘Enterprise M3’ area across north Hampshire and Surrey.


Following publication of a white paper on post-16 education and with guidance from government agency Skills England, all 39 ERBs were required to develop a second round of three-year LSIPs this summer.


Based on the research report produced for Hampshire Chamber by consultants and analysts Lichfields, the new LSIP for Hampshire and The Solent is designed to be a unifying strategy in response to changing economic conditions and labour market pressures.


Lichfields found that the region now supports almost one million jobs, having added 31,300 jobs since 2023, with strongest growth in Portsmouth and Southampton. At the same time however, labour market participation has actually weakened over the past three years relative to the whole population.


Employment has fallen by 8,100 people, unemployment has risen to 3.2% and economic inactivity has increased significantly. Barriers include caring responsibilities, youth disengagement, early retirement among skilled workers, a weaker jobs market and greater exposure to external economic shocks.


Factors directly influencing skills gaps in all sectors include shortages of digital capability, leadership, essential employability skills and green skills.


“The new three-year plan is a road map for the next phase of LSIP delivery,” Ross McNally explained.

“The strategy highlights the major sector opportunities and challenges we face including in our core clusters of maritime, defence, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, creative industries and health and social care."

“The creative industries, for example, contribute over £900 million in GVA, while marine and maritime support 20,000 jobs and £1.7 billion in economic output. Logistics employs 27,000 people, with the Solent Freeport expected to create 15,000 additional jobs."

“Across all sectors, improving workforce participation, business capability and access to flexible skills provision will be critical to achieving and sustaining regional growth."

“Trends analysed in the report underline the need for a skills ecosystem that drives productivity while also widening participation. An expansion of the employment base must be matched by efforts to unlock local talent, reduce barriers to work and support employers to recruit, retain and grow their workforces."


"That means building and maintaining strong skills development pathways between education providers and employers. We must also recognise and address demand-side barriers which influence businesses confidence, capability and flexibility to recruit."


“Our LSIP report makes clear that we need to strengthen capability across the workforce. Financial literacy, leadership and entrepreneurial confidence are among the essential foundations for improving resilience and productivity especially among our SMEs and micro-businesses. This is particularly important in a region such as ours where 88% of businesses employ fewer than ten people."


To read and download the Hampshire and The Solent LSIP report, visit Hampshire LSIP Skills Channel | HCOC LSIP

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  • Nov 2, 2023
  • 2 min read

A Scottish heating, plumbing and bathroom supplier with branches located in Loanhead, Falkirk, Rosyth and Macmerry is now one of Scotland’s largest suppliers of plumbing, heating and bathroom products, after its owners received HR support and signposting to grant funding from Business Gateway.


Launched in 2018, Heating, Plumbing & Parts (HPP) is a now a well-established heating and plumbing supplier and the go-to place for the everyday tradesman in Scotland. The business supplies and distributes everything relating to plumbing and heating, as well as specialising in bathrooms, underfloor heating and renewable energy products, selling to both trade and the public.

Founders of the business, Craig Campbell, Commercial Director and Alan McConville, Operations Director had accumulated a wealth of knowledge in the industry through their work for large manufacturing merchants in senior roles for over three decades. Together, they identified a gap in the market to strengthen the relationship between merchant suppliers and the everyday tradesman, who they believed to be neglected in the industry.

On a mission to drive change in the sector, Craig and Alan were in search of expert guidance to help turn their business plan into a reality and approached Business Gateway for support in 2018. Business Gateway was instrumental in providing support in the early stages, with both Craig and Alan attending start-up advice workshops. These also included HR support, which helped the duo create staff contracts. Additionally, Craig and Alan spent time with a strategy expert who helped them map out a five-year plan which they still follow today.

Through Business Gateway, Alan and Craig also benefitted from digital support to help build and develop a user-friendly website, which now includes an online brochure, and provides direct access to the brand’s social channels.


Motivated by the ongoing demand from their customers to have a showroom that could display the bathroom products on sale, Alan and Craig worked with Business Gateway to secure a 2023 Falkirk Council Resilience grant fund award for expansion. This £10,000 grant allowed HPP to build a new showroom at its Falkirk branch.


Since 2018, HPP has gone from strength to strength, starting with their first branch in Loanhead and later expanding its premises to Falkirk, Rosyth and Macmerry, with more branches to follow. Alan and Craig have also expanded their staff, and now have a team of 28 colleagues, who have over 300 years of experience and product knowledge between them. The business is now on track to turnover £7 million this year.


Craig Campbell, Commercial Director, HPP, said: “After working in the heating and plumbing industry for several years, I’d acquired an abundance of industry knowledge. However, starting your own business in the sector can be daunting and knowing where to start can be the hardest part. Our journey would have been much harder and longer without Business Gateway’s ongoing support.”


Andrea Bradley-Priest, Business Gateway adviser, said: “We have been able to support HPP with a range of Business Gateway’s services. It has been fantastic to watch the business expand and develop in the way that both Alan and Craig wished for in their five-year plan. I look forward to watching them continue to grow in the future.”


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