Manchester City Council is set to invest almost £3 million in new initiatives designed to help more residents benefit from the city’s economic growth.
The schemes aim to support hundreds more young people into apprenticeships and jobs, while helping adults gain the skills and qualifications they need to move into better-paid, more secure work, particularly in the city’s key growth industries.
The three-year initiatives, to run until 2028/29, will be paid for from the Council’s Prevention Fund – money set aside in the budget for invest-to-save initiatives which will help reduce future demands on council support services.
Deputy Council Leader Cllr Garry Bridges said: “Manchester’s economy is a real success story. Over the past decade it’s grown twice as fast as the UK’s economy as a whole. We are determined to ensure that this growth benefits everyone in the city and that’s what this £3m skills investment will help achieve.
“There’s too much talent wasted in our city – people being held back from doing the jobs they could be doing, because they don’t have the right skills or qualifications. Some young people face barriers which stop them even getting on the first rung of the ladder, and can lead to a lifetime of poorer outcomes.
“We can’t and won’t accept this. This investment will strengthen the support to people living and working in our city, to help young people get good jobs and help people get the skills they need to progress in their careers and reap the financial rewards of moving up the career ladder.
“As well as helping people to realise their potential, working with businesses will help build the talent pool they need to succeed and we look forward to getting employers to join us on this journey.”
The Council’s Executive, which meets on Wednesday 8 July, will be asked to approve the use of £2.7m of this funding for a package of schemes. These consist of:
Apprenticeship campaign and pathways for young people not in education, employment of training
There has been a national and local reduction in the number of apprenticeship starts and entry-level jobs due to the impact of digitalisation and inflationary pressures.
National Government funding through the Youth Guarantee and Skills investment programme aims to create half a million new “earn and learn” opportunities through various incentives to employers to take people on. The Council’s additional investment is intended to maximise the scope for Manchester young people to access these.
- An apprenticeship campaign and high-profile events to create 200 new apprenticeships, 80 apprenticeship ambassadors and directly engage with more than 8,000 young people. This would be supported by a communications campaign to reach young people and businesses across the city.
- A pathways programme to support 90 young people to gain meaningful work experience, with bursaries of £80 per week to support them, and to engage directly with more than 2,000 others in ‘hotspot’ areas for youth unemployment.
- A £250,000 funding boost to the city’s existing worklessness programme to help those with health conditions or disabilities, with a specific focus on helping young people aged 18-25 into apprenticeships and jobs. This investment will reach an extra 166 young people.
- Commissioning the Learning and Work Institute to assess the impact of national apprenticeships reform in Manchester and produce a roadmap to increase apprenticeship uptake and employer engagement.
Adult Skills and career progression
In Manchester and Greater Manchester, 50% of jobs require qualifications at Level 4 (equivalent to a foundation degree or higher apprenticeship) or above but those without such qualifications can find themselves stuck in low paid jobs, unable to progress.
- Career progression guarantee: This will be aimed at residents in low-paid or entry level jobs who need higher level qualifications to progress, and workers who are seeking to move into growth sectors with better prospects. At the heart of the offer will be a dedicated careers adviser and individual support around level 3, 4 and 5 training.
- Manchester Adult Education Services high level skills provision: MAES propose to introduce a Level 4 digital skills offer to help meet demand for higher level tech skills in cybersecurity, AI, data analysis and networking.
- Co-investment with the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation in the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise sector in an initiative to reduce unemployment and economic inactivity. Details of this scheme, likely to start in 2027/28, will be brought forward in due course.
Note to Editors
See also release about the Centre for Cities report highlighting Manchester’s strong economic performance and job creation.
An explanation of the different levels of skills qualifications can be found here:
What qualification levels mean: England, Wales and Northern Ireland – GOV.UK
