Investment Zone Scoping – Higher Skills Capacity Evaluation

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is made up of 18 local councils, working together to make the West Midlands the best place to live, work and visit. Our priorities include homes, jobs, transport and growth for everyone. As an organisation, we're focused on making life better for people in the West Midlands. To achieve this, WMCA, working with partners as part of the West Midlands Investment Zone, is developing a specification to assess the capacity and capability of local skills and education providers to deliver high level skills and qualifications across several identified sectors and clusters.

The WMCA is seeking to commission an evaluation of the current Skills Delivery Capacity with a focus on its Investment Zones during 2026. The purpose of the commission will be to understand and assess what the current skills capacity is to deliver high level skills that will support Investment Zone (IZ) aims and objectives as well as wider aspirations within the WMCA Growth Plan.

Furthermore, it is intended that when WMCA do approach the market, the successful supplier will:

• Assess and identify how the current skills ecosystem and training delivery capacity can be strengthened.

• Outline how WMCA can enhance collaboration among Further Education (FE), Higher Education (HE), and private providers to meet industry needs reducing fragmentation and inefficient engagement.

• Assess the current higher-level skills offer in the region at Level 4 and Level 5 training providers and with particular reference to the identified WM clusters.

• Design and produce a mechanism for providing ongoing periodic assessment of this landscape to understand where gaps are reducing, being maintained or increasing and make recommendations accordingly.