Reports
The Greater Manchester Local Skills Improvement Plan
In August 2023, the Secretary of State for Education approved the Local Skills Improvement Plan for Greater Manchester. The Plan is a culmination of survey work, data collection, interview analysis and information gathered from dozens of stakeholders across Greater Manchester, and lays out the current and future skills requirements by sector and Local Authority area, alongside recommendations and actions for delivery.
Several months on, in January 2024, the Chamber's LSIP team produced a new report that includes updated data and refreshed research and analysis about the skills, recruitment and labour market issues affecting businesses across Greater Manchester. The LSIP update report presents the research and findings that have been uncovered since the first stage of the LSIP was completed.
The new report (below) provides updated labour market information on a number of sectors, an analysis of apprenticeship starts in each key training area, an in-depth look at the number of vacancies and most in-demand jobs in all ten Local Authority areas of Greater Manchester, plus much more:
The team at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce worked with businesses, fellow employer representation bodies, Local Authorities, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, skills providers, and many others to develop the GM Local Skills Improvement Plan, published and approved by the Department for Education on August 2023. This original report can be read below:
In addition to the original Local Skills Improvement Plan, we produced several annexes which provide further details about how the Plan was produced:
Annex A lists the data sources that were used and gathered in order to establish economic context and skills shortages.
Annex B details how the strategic priorities were identified and describes the engagement process with stakeholders.
Local Area Reports
Throughout the LSIP research period, we collated and analysed large amounts of data that have been condensed and summarised here for each Local Authority area in Greater Manchester. We have also included the employment data collated for Greater Manchester as a whole, to enable a comparison with each borough.
The aim is to paint a picture of the economic landscape of each borough in Greater Manchester using employment data, information about Local Authority priorities and future investments, numbers of economically active people within each borough, the top occupations in each borough, plus results from our own employer survey. Information from employers in each borough, gathered through our survey and also qualitative evidence obtained through one-to-one interviews, is presented in the form of charts depicting the skills most difficult to find in candidates applying for roles within businesses, and the training areas of interest to employers in each borough.
We have analysed data obtained from Adzuna (a search engine for job advertisements), to show the top 10 occupations with the most job postings in each borough over the last six years to show where the greatest number of vacancies are and how this has changed or remained the same. Adzuna data has also been used to show the occupations most in demand in each area.
Our employment data shows estimated employment figures for 2022 and GVA statistics for each sector in each borough, highlighting which industries employ the most people. We have also produced charts showing how economically active each age group is within each Local Authority area.
Having obtained the figures for the largest employment sectors in each local area, we have then looked at the priorities for each borough, based on local area economic plans and strategies, and the future investment projects taking place over the coming years. This shows whether a shift is needed and what that shift might look like. Data we obtain over the next few years will help to identify whether investment projects that have come to fruition changed the employment make-up of each local area. From a skills perspective, this information on future investment projects also highlights which skills will be required to achieve these projects.
Finally, we have included a set of recommendations for each Local Authority area, based on our research and the data we have obtained from employers. These recommendations summarise the findings from each area and put forward suggestions as to how any skills and employment gaps can be bridged over the coming years. These have been aggregated to form the main priorities and recommendations for change in the GM LSIP forming the connection between local labour market information and intelligence and GM level priorities.
To contact the team about the Greater Manchester Local Skills Improvement Plan or the Local Authority area reports, email gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk.