Fourteen projects from across Greater Manchester and Lancashire have been announced as the successful applicants of the Fast Track Digital Workforce Fund.

The Fast Track Digital Workforce Fund, which was developed to address locally identified digital skills gaps, is a joint venture between the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership (LDSP).

The £3million fund, which is the first of its kind in the UK, was set up to support both Greater Manchester and Lancashire residents with accessible routes into digital employment, specifically targeting disadvantaged groups and those under-represented to help them get into digital roles.

The 14 successful projects are additional to the six programmes which received funding in round one to support over 200 Greater Manchester residents. Tech Returners were one of these projects, securing round one funding for their ‘Your Journey into Tech’ programme to support people wanting to return or enter the technology industry after a career break.

This latest round of funding will enable the successful consortia to deliver a range of digital skills training programmes, creating inclusive opportunities for groups of people that don’t currently have access to these digital opportunities and currently underrepresented in digital roles including BAME communities, under-employed individuals, women and ex-armed forces.

Successful applicants from round two of the initiative include Burnley College’s programme to help experienced manual workers transition into digital programming roles within the manufacturing sector. Manchester’s Tech Equity aims to upskill unemployed women from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and provide a pathway for them to move into junior network engineer roles.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said: “In the current climate this fund is more important than ever, this pandemic has highlighted the real importance of digital skills and technology and digital will be a vital element in how we ‘build back better’.

“In Greater Manchester our ambition is to be recognised as a world-leading digital city region. This fund helps bridge the digital skills gaps across our city-region and build a diverse talent pool in Greater Manchester, to ensure local businesses have access to the highly skilled workers they need.

“We have been overwhelmed with the fantastic applications received, which are testament to the range of organisations who are actively working to diversify talent and offer opportunities to underrepresented groups in the sector, ensuring digital skills are never a barrier to social mobility.”

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