Employment Provision Mapping in GM Survey

Overview

In March 2022 the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) launched its new Greater Manchester Strategy committing to:

• “Ensure businesses are able to access the skills and talent they need, by providing high quality learning, and wrapping support around individuals, enabling them to realise their potential - with access to good employment for those who can work, support for those who could work and care for those who can’t.
• Give our children and young people good education and training so they are ready for career success, with a balance of academic, technical and ‘life ready’ skills.”

Employment support is currently delivered through a diverse network of providers and funding streams. Whilst this brings benefits, there is a risk that gaps appear as different funding streams begin and end.

For instance, the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper and UKSPF pre-launch guidance in February 2022 highlights a potential gap of 15 months between the final ESF programme, which starts in April 2023, and the first UKSPF funding stream, which starts under the People and Skills strand in April 2024.

As a result, we want to get a full picture of all employment and skills related support currently offered to Greater Manchester residents. This will give us a better picture of where risks to future delivery are - by mapping where different funding streams start and end - as well as helping providers to better connect with each other to develop collaborative offers. We will also use this information to inform the development of GM’s Investment Plan for the UKSPF. 

We want to hear from:

• Organisations delivering employment and skills support programmes in Greater Manchester
• Local authorities and public agencies that commission and support employment and skills provision
• Voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations delivering employment support in Greater Manchester (including job clubs, mentoring, job-related wraparound support, etc)
• Larger “Prime” providers, particularly those with an interest in having more social enterprises or community organisations in their supply chains.

Why your views matter

We want to hear about the range of employment and skills support services that are on offer to residents (no matter how big or small) so that we can develop a robust understanding of the local offers of support to help residents progress towards employment, who can access them, and any funding limitations. This will provide an evidence base to show potential duplications and gaps and will help to inform decisions for providers and commissioners on future opportunities.

Your feedback will provide an evidence base that will highlight potential duplications and gaps and will help to inform decisions for providers and commissioners on future opportunities.