East Manchester - Workforce
Nature and structure of the labour force, demographics
Manchester offers a diverse labour pool, thanks to a high number of international students and foreign nationals. Businesses with a multinational interest benefit from extensive multilingual skills at a realistic cost.
Manchester`s labour force covers a wide range of different industries, including ICT, digital media and creatives, aviation, financial and professional services, and bio-science and medical devices.
Education and Qualification
Manchester`s labour force is strongly skilled in UK terms, with the majority qualified to NVQ level 2 and above.
Manchester`s Universities guarantee highly educated staff and have over 100,000 students. An additional 18 universities and HE institutions are within an hour`s drive of the city, increasing the number of opportunities for recruitment.
Manchester Business School was ranked 22nd in the world by FT, and its MBA programme rated top ten in non-US schools by Forbes, strengthening Manchester`s position as a world class educational and professional centre of excellence (MIDAS, 2009).
The Learning Skills Council is in charge of the planning and funding of high quality education and training for young people and adults. By 2010 it aims to provide young people and adults with knowledge and skills that match the best in the world, to make them a truly competitive global workforce.
Availability
Greater Manchester offers a high quality labour force of 5.2 million people within an hour`s commute of the city centre.
A multi-modal transport infrastructure allows staff to be flexible and mobile and, combined with excellent standards of living and affordable housing, guarantees workforce retention and satisfaction.
Training and Recruitment Initiatives
Manchester provides the easiest recruitment of qualified staff outside London - the most important factor in investment decisions, as found by Cushman & Wakefield`s UK Cities Monitor 2008, www.investinmanchester.com.
Greater Manchester home to a wide range of industry-specialised recruitment agencies, offering business the opportunity to outsource their recruitment and benefit from valuable support and advice.
Businesses operating in Manchester benefit from part-funding through the region`s Professional Apprenticeship Scheme, ensuring that employers are able to retain the staff they recruit and train.
Manchester`s five universities each offer their own careers service for businesses in the area and beyond. The University of Manchester`s service is has been voted the best in the UK for the past 5 years by employers.
SAGO aims to ensure that prospective graduates are linked to the industry, working in partnership with all of the region`s higher education careers services and business support services.
