This week Principals across all 9 GM Colleges convened to review proposals developed by the second cohort of the Greater Manchester Colleges Leading for the Future programme, marking the end of an inspiring and transformative leadership journey delivered by FE Associates.
Over the past eight months, 30 emerging and established leaders from across Greater Manchester’s Further Education colleges have come together to shape the future of education through bold innovation and collaboration. This diverse group brought together professionals from curriculum, quality, teaching and learning, apprenticeships, and professional services.
Since its launch in October 2024, the cohort has met on four occasions, each session focused on developing the leadership of innovation within the unique context of Greater Manchester. The programme included dynamic workshops on innovation strategy, design thinking, the future of digital technology, and change management — equipping participants with both the mindset and tools to lead change in their institutions and across the wider FE system.
Throughout the programme, delegates demonstrated a commitment to collective progress, often setting aside individual organisational agendas in favour of shared goals for system-wide impact. A key learning theme was the realisation that while each institution has its own challenges, many of the sector’s most pressing issues can only be tackled through joined-up thinking and collaborative innovation.
At a final conference, delegates showcased their proposals for sustainable collaboration and innovation across Greater Manchester’s colleges. These presentations reflected the energy, insight and ambition fostered throughout the programme — and underscored a shared commitment to maintaining the momentum of system-level improvement.
Ben Edmonds, an industry expert in innovation also attended the latest event to help staff to think outside the box and find unique solutions through creativity and innovation.
Anna Dawe, GMColleges Chair, explains, “The Fe sector moves at an incredibly fast pace, we’ve got political changes, curriculum reform and we need to innovate and come up with new ideas. Doing it with nine colleges, with a whole raft of ideas and a wider set of professionals who have got different experiences, I think is both incredibly liberating and also inspirational.”
Matt Atkinson, FE Associates Progamme Lead said, “Fundamentally this programme brings leaders and managers together from across Greater Manchester colleges to really think about how working collaboratively some of the key challenges that face the Greater Manchester system can be solved.”
