The Council and democracy State of the city report 2019

A highly skilled city

The city’s working–age population is better qualified than ever before, and improved school performance means that a higher proportion of young people have the skills they need to sustain work. In addition, the high number of university graduates staying in the city for employment means there is an increased supply of highly skilled residents.

However, despite significant reductions over the past fifteen years, Manchester still has a disproportionately high proportion of its working-age population who have no or very low qualifications. There is a strong correlation between no qualifications, worklessness, social exclusion, poor health and dependency. Low skill levels are more prevalent in residents aged over 50 and we are working with businesses and other partners to respond to the challenges faced by this group.

We are working together with employers to ensure that everyone is paid at least a Real Living Wage and to encourage a work placement for every young person.

Good-quality apprenticeships are essential to upskilling the city’s workforce and meeting the growth needs of businesses. Despite this, the number of apprenticeship starts has fallen. In order to reverse this trend, we are working to increase employer demand for apprenticeships and improve the scale, breadth and quality of apprenticeships on offer.

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