What is Skills for Growth?
The Skills for Growth programme has been designed to fill the occupational skills gaps identified by employers who have continually highlighted that they cannot find the technical skills in Greater Manchester required to support and grow their businesses.
To respond to this, Greater Manchester Combined Authority has secured £42million from the European Social Fund to deliver a three-year programme, working in partnership with businesses and training providers to create new learning opportunities for employed residents in the city-region.
Pledging to support more than 25,000 individuals in employment and 3,000 businesses over its duration, Skills for Growth will plug the gaps identified by employers in priority industries as well as enabling local people to further their careers.
The priority industries targeted as part of programme are:
- Digital
- Construction (particularly retrofit and green technologies)
- Manufacturing
- Health and social care
- Hospitality
- Logistics
- Life sciences
- Education
- Retail
- Creative, technology and culture
Greater Manchester’s strategic priorities are the drivers for the programme, specifically those identified in the Local Industrial Strategy and Greater Manchester strategy, around supporting business growth and delivering an integrated approach to employment and skills.
In addition, it will support providers of education and training to better meet the needs of residents and employers through the creation of new partnerships and innovative methods of delivery.
The programme will:
- Work with employers across the city-region meaning employed people will be supported to increase their skills levels enabling career progression and movement within the labour market.
- Work with employers to design and deliver a range of Level 3 and above qualifications, responsive to the skills needs of Greater Manchester businesses.
- Deliver targeted activity to support priority groups in particular, Greater Manchester’s ageing population, low paid, and women in employment to increase their skills levels.
- Work with a range of employers including SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and micro-businesses, ensuring the employment and skills system is meeting the current needs of our businesses. This will ensure we can continue to deliver a talent pipeline of skilled people right here in Greater Manchester.
GMCA challenged students from UCEN Manchester to put together animations explaining the Skills for Growth programme. This was a great way for the students to create an end-of-semester project in response to a live brief – watch the video below for more information.