Digital supported apprenticeships for SEND young people among new GMCA-funded training schemes

Over 70 new apprenticeship opportunities have been created across Greater Manchester to support underrepresented groups access training, including SEND and ethnic minority groups.

Seven local organisations have been awarded a total of £328,000 as part of the ‘Removing Barriers’ scheme to attract and recruit new apprentices from groups underrepresented on current programmes.

Projects to have received funding include efforts to support single parents into teaching assistant roles and attract BAME residents into the engineering sector. 15 supported apprenticeships in the digital sector have also been created for SEND young people through a collaboration between The White Room, Total People, Manchester City Council and Stockport-based charity, Pure Innovations which works to support SEND young people overcome barriers to employment.

Removing Barriers will run as a ‘test and learn’ initiative, with plans in place to create further apprenticeship opportunities for even more people across the city-region, removing whatever barriers they face and forms part of the Greater Manchester Young Person’s Guarantee.

Cllr Sean Fielding, GMCA Portfolio Lead for Digital, Education, Skills, Work and Apprenticeships said:

It is great that we have been able to award funding to so many amazing local organisations that work to remove barriers to apprenticeships in our city-region.

“Expanding apprenticeship opportunities will enable people to find full time work, while also giving them the necessary skills to develop their careers. Apprenticeship placements and job opportunities should be accessible to everyone in the city-region, regardless of their background, and it is hoped even more placements under the Removing Barriers scheme will be created for underrepresented groups as the programme continues.”