Manchester City Council’s Executive Committee are set to approve a plan to invest nearly £3m in schemes designed to get hundreds more young people into apprenticeships and jobs
The investment will help many adults gain the skills and qualifications they need to progress in better paid and more secure jobs – especially in key growth industries within the city.
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.
The initiative will see 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.
There will be 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 and the council will commission 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.
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.
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.”
