Devolved Adult Education Budget supports 29,000 Greater Manchester residents

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) Adult Education Budget has supported over 29,000 Greater Manchester residents since launching in August 2019.

The Adult Education Budget is a pot of £92 million which the GMCA has used to support Greater Manchester residents to access education to develop skills for work and life.  The funding is part of a series of measures to ensure businesses in the city-region continue to be able to access a skilled workforce.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said:

Since August we have made great progress in ensuring our residents are equipped with the right skills and knowledge to succeed in our city-region’s growing economy.

“Devolution is allowing us to move forward in Greater Manchester to deliver the best possible outcome for residents and businesses by creating a fully integrated and seamless lifelong learning experience that benefits everyone.”

Devolved powers for the GMCA has allowed the city-region to change how education is funded for over-19s, through its Adult Education Budget. Measures taken since August include offering free education to all residents without a Level 2 qualification (equivalent to a GSCE grade C), free learning to all employed residents earning below the national living wage, and funding Level 3 training in priority sectors.

GMCA Work and Skills lead Councillor Sean Fielding said:

Greater Manchester’s Local Industrial Strategy focuses on people and ensuring we have good quality jobs so that people can succeed.

“The devolved AEB allows us to get Greater Manchester residents upskilled, encouraging them to keep moving forward and provide inspiration to the next generation. I believe we can make a huge difference here and set the standard for the rest of the country.”

Since the August 2019 launch for delivery of the Adult Education Budget, sectors to have benefited from enrolments include Health, Public Service and Car, Construction and ICT.