New careers service launches in Greater Manchester

A UNIQUE careers and apprenticeship service for young people in Greater Manchester is now providing them with useful tools and options to help them plan for their future.

GMACS – which is short for the Greater Manchester Apprenticeship and Careers Service – has launched today (Tuesday, February 4, 2020).

To mark the occasion an event took place in Salford, where the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, met with secondary and post-16 education leaders while driving forward his Life Readiness agenda.

From Year 7 through to becoming an adult, young people across Greater Manchester will have access to a range of useful tools to help them build their skills, search and apply for opportunities with businesses and apprenticeships, as well as for college and post-16 courses. GMACS also promises to offer young people the chance to get a flavour of what’s on offer in the world of work and view available jobs.

All secondary schools and colleges in Greater Manchester are being encouraged to sign up to GMACS to allow their students to benefit from the new site, where everything – from details of apprenticeships, careers advice and plans, and even a personality quiz to help young people decide a career – can be easily accessed in one place.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic news for young people across our city-region that GMACS is now available for them to access – creating a single, digital platform to help them make appropriate and informed decisions about their futures and careers.

“GMACS is an ambitious and unique apprenticeship and careers service that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the country. The portal provides a trusted source of information that allows young people to plan, search and apply for their future opportunities – whether that be college places, apprenticeships or other developmental activities to build their skills – all in one place.”

The Mayor was joined at the launch event by more than 300 careers leaders, educators and employers, while speakers included Joanne Roney OBE, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council and Lead Chief Executive for Education, Skills, Work and Apprenticeships.

Year 10 students from the Oasis Academy in Oldham trialled GMACS ahead of its launch and had some positive things to say about the site:

15-year-old Charlie Cunliffe said: “GMACS seems really helpful - I am interested in psychology and think GMACS will help me trying to find apprenticeships and A Levels. I found the education and training section of GMACS interesting and would recommend the site to other people.”

Hussein Mahmood (aged 15) said: “GMACS is a very good website and gives ideas of what you might want to do when you leave school. It helps you make decisions as gives an idea of salaries and how much you can get paid while doing apprenticeships. Everything is in one place on GMACS and easy to find and I would recommend it to anyone interested.”

14-year-old Tayeb Khan said: “The career plan function in GMACS showed me what I need to do and what education is needed to get the career I want. GMACS also showed me details of colleges and universities, as well as salaries to help me make decisions. I also found the personality quiz really helpful, and this can help people who don’t know what they want to do when they leave school. I would recommend GMACS as found it useful with everything in one place.”

Councillor Sean Fielding, Leader of Oldham Council and GMCA lead for Education, Skills, Work and  said: “GMACS will help young people across Greater Manchester and help to improve the quality and growth of apprenticeships while introducing them to the world of work. Apprenticeships are an excellent route for anyone looking to start, change or develop their careers.”

For more information, visit www.gmacs.co.uk. 

Article Published: 04/02/2020 12:13 PM