GMCA ESF Skills for Growth - SME Skills Support

Greater Manchester (GM) has secured approx. £40m European Social Fund to deliver GM's Skills for Growth Programme. An overview of the full programme has been provided along with the delivery model in the specification in order to set the scene for how the SME Skills Support element of the programme, being procured through this specification, fits in to the wider model.

The programme in its whole is purposefully iterative in its development and commissioning, the aim of which is to put GM in a unique position to build a truly collaborative programme that shapes skills delivery and responds to skills needs that emerge throughout the 3 year programme.

Skills provision is critical to GM's recovery from Covid19. This programme provides an opportunity to support businesses as they rapidly develop and innovate to maintain and create economic activity and jobs, with a focus on increased productivity through developing the skills of their workforce. The foundational and frontier growth sectors identified in GM's Prosperity Review and Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) will also be key priorities for this programme.