GREATER MANCHESTER COMMITMENT: BEST PRACTICE AND LOCAL CAMPAIGNS
JULY 2013
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Backing Young Bury ..................................................................................2
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The Greater Manchester Fire And Rescue Service ...................................3
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Aspirational Future.....................................................................................3
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Manchester City Councils 300 in 100 ........................................................4
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Rochdale: Work Matters ............................................................................4
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GM Skills and Employment Best Practice
1 Backing Young Bury
Bury Council, in conjunction with the Bury training providers, want to boost the number of local companies recruiting young people and provide more opportunities for apprenticeships. They are helping employers to create new opportunities for 16 – 24 year olds in the Borough. Bury Council itself has committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships internally to an additional 30 over the next three years. The council will widen the variety of apprenticeships in order to appeal to a diverse range of interests. The council recognises that some young people do not have the confidence and skills to access an apprenticeship so have created pre employment routes within council departments leading to a guarantee of an interview on the corporate apprenticeship scheme upon successful completion. As the towns biggest employer Bury Council also offers 100 work experience placements across departments available to 14 – 24 year olds. This can take the form of a short-term placement as part of their school/college programme of study or a longer-term placement in the case of young unemployed residents. These placements give young people the opportunity to experience working in a variety of occupational sectors, with mentoring and support for moving into learning or employment on completion of their placement. The council has established a ‘Talent Pool’ to maintain a register of young people who might be interested in/suitable for future employment with the council once vacancies arise.
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GM Skills and Employment Best Practice
2 The Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) The GMFRS supports young people in some of the most disadvantaged communities through its‘Cadet’ schemes and other programmes of alternative provision for 14 – 19 year olds. The programmes aim to engage young people with learning through a highly supervised and disciplined ‘hands on’ approach – including the use of fire service equipment and involvement in GMFRS training routines. Cadets were involved in the clear-up following the disturbances in Manchester 15 and Salford city centres and demonstrated their engagement with their communities through this activity. The GMFRS is fully committed to engagement with young people and has ambitious plans to develop its 42 fire stations across the city region as youth and community centres at a time of diminishing resources for conventional youth services.
3 Aspirational Futures Endorsed by the Skills and Employment Partnership, the Aspirational Futures Project has developed a set of ‘capabilities’ which has the support of the GM Chamber of Commerce and other key partners. The set includes a range of personal skills, such as ‘communication’, ‘creative problem solving’, ‘seeing the bigger picture’ as well as personal attributes such as being proactive, resilient, aspirational and empathetic. In this way, it is hoped that young people’s needs can be aligned with those of education/learning providers and employers in responding to the skills challenges of the Greater Manchester and national economies. Along with formal qualifications, the acquisition of these capabilities will empower young people to succeed in their learning, progress to further learning and employment and become productive citizens. The capabilities are being trialed in secondary schools in various areas as well as in a further education college. The object of the project is to ensure that development of these essential skills can be embedded into young people’s normal education/learning curriculum, rather than being seen as ‘add-ons’. A website has been developed, with useful resources for young people, employers and education/training providers. Visit www.aspirationalfutures.co.uk for more information.
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GM Skills and Employment Best Practice
4 Manchester City Council’s 300 in 100 In partnership with NAS and providers the Council created an ambitious target of generating 300 new apprenticeship vacancies within the city in 100 days. The campaign surpassed its target, generating 308 vacancies in total. A bold and simple branding of ‘Here. Now.’ was designed and marketed across the city. This included 3 events, attended by over 200 employers, and weekly articles in Business Week to highlight the benefits of apprenticeships and case studies. The Council worked smartly, using electronic signs and billboards across the city free of charge and making sure that the strap line was used at every opportunity. NAS followed up every genuine vacancy with a certificate for the employer, signed by Sir Richard Leese, Leader of the Council, and participating employers were included in a weekly roll of honour in the media.
5 Work matters in Rochdale Borough In order for the Council to maximise on future opportunities they decided to equip the Borough’s Adviser Network with the necessary tools to understand the implications of future employment trends and opportunities to assist their clients in making informed choices. Access to current, quality Labour Market information (LMI) was considered crucial to success and ultimately the future prosperity of Rochdale Borough. Officers produced the attached report to provide background information for14 Industry Sectors. This ensures that Advisers have the most up to date information a selection of useful website addresses are provided for each Industry.
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