Thousands of adults across Greater Manchester now benefit from locally funded skills training following the devolution of the £92 million Adult Education Budget (AEB) from central government to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) in August 2019. This budget focuses on providing education and learning for individuals over the age of 18.
The nine Greater Manchester Colleges are responsible for delivering over two thirds of this funding and the Group has been working closely with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) since the original announcement in 2016 to ensure that the Greater Manchester programme reflects the needs of our local communities.
GMColleges has co-developed an effective implementation plan and its colleges now deliver to nearly 40,000 adult learners per year. Courses range from essential skills, which adults need to progress into work or improve employability and life chances, through to acquiring qualifications which will boost career prospects and focus on sectors where opportunities are greatest.
Devolved control over adult skills enables Greater Manchester to introduce new flexibilities to make it easier for people to access the skills training they need, and to respond quickly to changing local circumstances and needs. Regular meetings are held with GMCA to ensure maximum effective use is made of the AEB budget. This has been particularly important as the COVID-19 pandemic has led to large numbers of adults requiring retraining to get back into work, to switch sectors or to upskill in their existing roles.
Working together as a Group, GMColleges is now looking to develop its AEB offer to support its emerging Clusters of Excellence project in key sectors to ensure pathways from core skills through to higher qualifications at Level 4 and 5 are provided to meet the needs of industries across the City region.
