South East
Sussex and Brighton
Local Skills Improvement Plan 2026-2029 · set by Sussex Chamber of Commerce
- 9
- Priority sectors
- 5
- Occupations in demand
- 42
- Skills named
- 5
- Funding streams
The Sussex and Brighton LSIP 2026-2029, developed by Sussex Chamber of Commerce as the designated Employer Representative Body, addresses an SME-dominated, geographically distributed economy of 73,735 businesses generating over £51.7bn GVA and a working-age population over 1 million. It identifies eight key sectors: construction; creative and cultural industries; digital technologies; engineering and advanced manufacturing; health, care and life sciences; hospitality and visitor economy; land-based industries; and professional and business services, several of which explicitly align with UK Industrial Strategy 2025 priority growth-driving sectors (Advanced Manufacturing, Creative Industries, Digital and Technologies, Life Sciences, Professional and Business Services), plus Clean Energy as a national growth area relevant to the emerging green economy.
What employers here asked for
- construction
- hospitality and visitor economy
- land-based industries
National growth sectors
Designated by government, not chosen locally.
- creative and cultural industries
- digital technologies
- engineering and advanced manufacturing
- health, care and life sciences
- professional and business services
- Clean Energy and associated supply chains
Occupations in demand
Every occupation the plan names.
- 01Technician, specialist and mid-level roles
- 02Experienced technicians
- 03Technician, specialist, supervisory and mid-level technical roles
- 04Care, health and people-facing service roles
- 05Experienced and senior staff
Jobs advertised right now
Skills named in the plan
A sample: 12 of the 42 skills the plan names, grouped by kind.
Technical
- Advanced technical and technician-level occupational competence
- Troubleshooting, fault-finding and maintenance capability
- Operation and optimisation of modern equipment, systems and processes
- Quality assurance and standards compliance within technical work
- Continuous improvement methods applied within operational settings
- Quality management and assurance, governance, compliance and health and safety (core business fundamentals)
- Higher-level technical capability: modern equipment, automation, digitally enabled systems, advanced production technologies, precision tools and emerging sector-specific technologies
Digital
- Use of data and digital tools to support technical decision-making
- Applied digital literacy
- Confident use of sector-specific digital systems and platforms
- Data handling and interpretation relevant to role and context
- Safe, effective and responsible use of AI-enabled tools (validation, quality checking, understanding bias and GDPR)