Our Local Industrial Strategy (LIS)

The purpose of the Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) is to support businesses to grow and develop, to increase productivity through innovation and higher-level skills and to benefit the people and businesses of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.

Our LIS will focus on opportunities for boosting productivity, economic renewal and growth, whilst tackling local challenges to help to level up our towns, cities and rural areas.

Following a thorough examination of socio-economic and labour market intelligence, we developed our LIS in close collaboration with our businesses, HE/FE, public sector leaders and other stakeholders throughout 2019.

Following a period of public consultation, we agreed a final draft in early 2020, which was updated during March and April to reflect the economic circumstances attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can read the Executive Summary here.

During the Summer of 2020, we worked with our businesses and partners on four broad themes:

• Future Workforce – providing satisfactory work for all with a pipeline of opportunities for progression, ensuring our businesses have access to the skills and talent they need to grow.
• Growing Business – accelerating business evolution for start-ups and growing companies and creating a place of choice for inward investment.
• Innovation – developing world class innovation and increasing demand and capacity for innovation across our whole business base.
• Place – place-making and promoting the area as the best place to live, learn, work and do business.