Coastal Communities Fund

A thriving Lincolnshire coastline with a developing visitor economy founded on business growth and career opportunities for local people

Coastal Sustainability through Careers and Business Skills in Greater Lincolnshire - A Greater Lincolnshire LEP project delivered by Lincolnshire County Council.

Rationale

Visitor Economy and its growth critical to the Greater Lincolnshire Economy
Coastal economy acutely seasonal
Mainstream Skills Funding often not aligned to seasonal economies
Low aspiration, skills gaps and shortages make skills a barrier to growth

Data

Visitor Economy worth over £1.9bn pa to Greater Lincolnshire Economy
1/3 of all nights of holiday accommodation in the EU sold in July / August
26 to 37 principal seaside towns in England have an overall level of deprivation greater than average. Skegness (40% have no formal qualifications)

Outputs

370 Learners
75 Qualifications
50 Businesses Engaged
50 Jobs created / secured
7 Apprenticeships
8 Coastal Champions

Coastal Employment and Skills Partnership

Collaborative, Innovative & Visitor Economy Focussed

1 - Coastal Careers

Raising aspirations
Older resident careers
Promoting career opportunities
Skills Transfer / Escalator
Access to FE / HE

2 - Skills Innovation

Crucial Skills
Seasonal schedules
Fills skills system gaps
Connect with existing opportunities
Apprenticeship development

3 - Coastal Evidence Base

Articulate and quantify skills gaps and shortages
Seasonal labour market trends - supply / demand
Pathfinder evaluation
Learn from / compare with other seaside economies

Outcomes

The following outcomes were obtained:

Greater local recognition and understanding of local visitor economy

Local skills pilot programme – training / jobs for locals to support business growth

Evidence-base of seasonal seaside skills gaps / shortages to compare with data nationally

Research Partner Appointed supporting the Coastal Sustainability through Careers and Business Skills in Greater Lincolnshire Coastal Communities Fund project

The research project will explore the seasonality of the Lincolnshire coast compared to other coastal destinations, identify three comparator destinations that have a similar visitor economy model but may be at a different stage of economic regeneration and share lessons learnt and best practice. The project will understand the current investment levels on the coast and uptake by businesses in funded skills programmes to establish whether coastal areas are being left behind and then through primary research with businesses and residents start to understand the extent to which their aspirations are influenced by the seasonal nature of the economy.

Learn more about the National Coastal Tourism Academy or read the NCTA Research Briefing Notes

Outcomes

Reports

Green Tourism Ambassador Case Studies

Click the link to view the full case studies.

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An Employment, Skills and Economic Profile of Lincolnshire’s Seaside Coastal Community

Click on the link below to view the Executive Summary Report

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Adult Literacy, a spotlight on the coast

Click on the link below to view the Report.

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CoA Business Development - Courses Films

Smartphone Filmmaking for business. An online workshop aimed to get the best from a smartphone to create engaging video content, appropriate to the visitor economy sector to attract customers, clients and visitors to the Lincolnshire coast.

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Best Practice - Magna Vitae Trust for leisure and Culture

Magna Vitae Trust for Leisure and Culture, based in Lincolnshire, puts the well-being of staff at the core of its activity. The Trust has now created an innovative, successful Skill Builder Programme specifically designed to support the local coastal community secure skills and employment post-Covid.

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Best Practice - North Devon UNESCO Biosphere Business Partner Scheme

The North Devon UNESCO Biosphere is part of a global network of biosphere reserves set in a stunning, diverse landscape in the heart of Southwest England.

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Best Practice - Cove Communities UK

Cove Communities UK places its people at the very heart of everything it does. It has successfully designed and delivered a skills and training programme specifically tailored to the needs of its workforce and is starting to reap the benefits with increasing staff retention rates.

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Best Practice - Holivans

Recently awarded the Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Award for Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year 2022, Holivans has successfully established a family atmosphere that not only sees guests return year-on-year, but also delivers an impressive staff retention rate.

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Best Practice - SO Festival

Operated by Magna Vitae Trust for Leisure & Culture, SO Festival is an innovative, free, annual, international outdoor arts festival that brings high quality culture from across Europe to audiences of all ages, on the Lincolnshire coast.

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Best Practice - Hall & Woodhouse

Hall & Woodhouse, based in Dorset, is committed to identifying, developing and promoting leaders internally. It has established a unique leadership development programme which has successfully improved employee engagement and raised the company’s profile within local communities.

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CCF Celebration Event - Presentation

'Future proofing coastal tourism in Lincolnshire 2019-2022 - Celebrate and learn'.

Following a successful event on 30th November the presentation can now be viewed here:

Presentation Document

Coastal Communities Fund Project Evaluation / What Works?!!

Vision: A thriving Lincolnshire coastline with a developing visitor economy founded on business growth and career opportunities for local people

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Coastal Sustainability through Careers and Business Skills in Greater Lincolnshire

Research prepared by the National Coastal Tourism Academy - April 2023

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Coastal Communities Fund: round 5 progress report

This report describes the progress of the 47 projects supported by Round 5 of the Coastal Communities Fund in England only, which began in 2018 with projects delivering up to 2022 and beyond.

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