Consultations and surveys New Work and Skills Strategy for Manchester consultation

New Work and Skills Strategy consultation

We’re refreshing the city’s approach to work and skills up to 2027 and we want to make sure it works for the whole city. 

We’ve spoken to people across Manchester and come up with some new priorities to work on together. We’d like to hear your views on whether these priorities are the right ones for our city. 

Our priorities are to help make Manchester:

• Thriving and Sustainable - We will make sure Manchester is a thriving place where people can get good jobs with fair pay. 
• Highly Skilled - We will help local people of all ages to learn, in school and beyond, so they can get good jobs. 
• Progressive and Equitable - We will be an inclusive and equal city where everyone can thrive and easily get support when they need it. 
• Liveable and Zero Carbon -We will reduce the city’s carbon emissions to zero by 2038 at the latest. 
• Connected - We will make sure everyone has the skills, technology and transport they need to connect with opportunities and services, in person and online. 

To help make Manchester Thriving and Sustainable we'll:

• Strengthen support for businesses to help them to grow and be successful. - We want a strong business support system that helps start-ups, the self-employed and other enterprises to innovate, thrive and grow. 
• Help and encourage employers to offer good quality, fair jobs. - We want to help create secure jobs with predictable hours, paying at least the Real Living Wage. 
• Make sure local people are connected to new, good jobs in sectors that are growing and when there is investment in the city. - We’ll make sure good jobs are created for local people when investment and building projects happen here, particularly in places that need this most.  

To help make Manchester Highly Skilled we'll:

• Create more opportunities for local people to learn and develop skills. - We’ll make sure more people can access learning and job opportunities, including higher-level skills and apprenticeships. 
• Make sure all 16 and 17 year olds are in education, employment or training. - We want more choice and opportunities available to 16 and 17 year olds, and we want more young people to take up these opportunities.  
• Attract more highly skilled graduates to the city and encourage graduates to stay here. - We want to encourage more graduates to stay or move here after university, to help provide high-level skills. 
• Make sure the training on offer helps people learn the skills that are needed in the local jobs market. - We’ll improve our understanding of the skills that are needed by businesses, and we’ll make sure training meets these needs and is good quality. By doing this we will help local businesses to thrive and attract new businesses to the city. 

To help make Manchester Progressive and Equitable we'll: 

• Make sure we are helping the local people who are most in need to access learning and jobs. - We’ll use the data we have available to understand who needs support the most, and create solutions to help them. 
• Understand and overcome the things that make it difficult for some people to do training, or get and keep a job. - We want to make work and training opportunities more flexible and open to more people, whatever their situation, including those with health conditions or who are caring for children. 
• Understand and overcome the problems that employers face with recruitment. - We’ll ensure careers, skills and employment support services respond to the needs of employers, and help overcome barriers to recruitment. 
• Put health and wellbeing at the centre of our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. - As our city recovers from the pandemic, we want to build a fairer city where gaps between the health of our communities are narrowed and everyone can experience good health and wellbeing, no matter where they live. 
• Work with businesses and other organisations to make sure more of their money is spent locally, to bring benefits to local people through training and jobs. - We’ll make sure that organisations in Manchester provide job and learning opportunities to local people, and that their supply chains include local businesses. 
• Make the most of funding, connections, and national programmes, to make sure local people benefit from better learning and employment opportunities. - We’ll put Manchester residents’ interests first, and make sure we influence and tailor Greater Manchester and national programmes, to bring the maximum benefits to local people. 

To help make Manchester Liveable and Zero Carbon we'll:

• Develop skills training that will help the city reduce its carbon emissions and adapt to climate change. - We will write a ‘green skills’ plan that will make sure businesses and residents are able to get the skills they need in areas such as construction, adapting buildings, looking after green spaces and wildlife, using green energy, and reducing our carbon emissions. 
• Make sure employers and residents know about, and can make the most of, the new opportunities that the shift to a zero carbon city offers. - We want to help businesses, educators and residents learn about the skills that are needed to change to, and thrive in, our future zero-carbon city. This will include updating and improving careers guidance. 

To help make Manchester Connected we'll:

• Help residents develop digital skills at all levels, from being able to apply for jobs online, to having the skills to work in the city’s growing digital sector. - We want to particularly help people with very limited digital skills, including older residents and job seekers, to develop the confidence and skills to get online. 
• Make sure local people have the technology needed to get online. - We’ll work with partners to ensure residents have access to the internet networks and devices they need to connect. 
• Encourage more opportunities to work from home, opening up jobs to more people. - We want to help break down barriers to work by encouraging more employers to provide opportunities to work from home or away from the office. 
• Make sure local people are connected to opportunities through good quality public transport and other transport options. - We’ll influence transport plans in Manchester and Greater Manchester to make sure residents can easily get to jobs and training.