Greater Manchester Chamber - Up Front

Join Chris Fletcher and Lucy Mulligan as they dive into the Chamber’s critical role in shaping policy — and why it matters to you.🔹 Spending Review unpacked – what it means for businesses🔹 10-Year Infrastructure Plan – the big wins for Greater Manchester🔹 Industrial Strategy (IS8) – where opportunity meets ambition🔹 US Tariffs – what businesses need to know right now🔹 Business Mood Check – clarity, confidence and local resiliencePolicy affects everything from how you hire to how you grow. This episode explains what’s coming, what it means, and how Greater Manchester businesses can not only respond but influence what happens next.

In this next episode in the series of podcasts from the Chamber's Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) team, we discuss our latest progress report approved by the Department for Education. Chris Fletcher, the Chamber's policy director and GM LSIP contract director, starts by giving us an overview of the political landscape in the UK right now, and what that means for skills and the LSIP project. The LSIP progress report lists the new training and courses that have been put in place since we highlighted the skills gaps affecting businesses in our first LSIP report in summer 2023, and Chris talks about how the LSIP findings fit into the current skills landscape in Greater Manchester, and how businesses can get involved in the next stage of the project. ⁠Follow this link to read the LSIP progress report⁠ and if you'd like to get in touch with the Chamber's LSIP team, email ⁠gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk⁠. To find out more about the GM LSIP, visit our website: ⁠gmlsip.co.uk⁠. Thanks for listening!

Talking Skills is the new name for the podcast that examines the research, findings and insights emerging from the Chamber's work on the Greater Manchester Local Skills Improvement Plan (GM LSIP). Our latest guest is Beau Ormrod, owner of FocalPoint Coaching. Beau is not only an executive coach, but he's also an advocate of the Positive Intelligence programme, which focuses on mental fitness and wellbeing. Business training has been a prominent area of research for the GM LSIP, as the team has been working to understand how many businesses train their teams, and what types of training are lacking or missing the mark. Beau sheds some light on how businesses need to tackle training to ensure that employees get the most out of it, and provides some invaluable tips on how to improve engagement and retention amongst staff. You can find out more about Beau and FocalPoint Coaching here: https://beauormrod.focalpointcoaching.com/ and contact him via the links here: https://miitap.me/profile/zLgiB3hpp. And you can learn more about the GM LSIP via https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/. To contact the GM LSIP team, email gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk.

In this episode of the Chamber's Local Skills Improvement Plan podcast, we're joined by Julie Lappin, Executive Director at Greater Manchester Learning Provider Network (GMLPN) and Subrah Krishnan-Harihara, Deputy Director of Research at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Julie talks about the wide range of GMLPN-run programmes and initiatives designed to support learning providers and Greater Manchester residents, including ASK (Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge in Schools), Multiply, which helps to support Further Education providers in delivering maths skills across Greater Manchester, and a project which aims to support autistic individuals into apprenticeships. Subrah and Julie also discuss the changing skills system in Greater Manchester - the integrated technical education system - and the alternative pathways that this will provide for young people entering the workforce through work-based learning. They also look at some of the challenges facing learning providers, such as recruitment in FE Colleges. Subrah talks about the importance of understanding the skills and recruitment challenges impacting businesses and how, through that data, we can help to make the changes to skills provision that employers need. For more information about the Greater Manchester Local Skills Improvement Plan, visit: https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/ and to contact the team, email: gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. For further information about Greater Manchester Learning Provider Network, visit: https://gmlpn.co.uk/.

This episode of the podcast from the Chamber's Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) team focuses on the skills shortages affecting the electrical trades. We are joined by the chief operating officer at the Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA), Andrew Eldred; the operations director at 24-7 Group, Matt Longworth; and the Chamber's deputy director of research, Subrah Krishnan-Harihara. We discuss some of the main skills shortages affecting businesses in the electrical and technical engineering industries, and, as there is only 1 electrician for every 368 people in Greater Manchester*, we hear about some of the problems and possible solutions to getting more apprentices and skilled individuals into the industry. Subrah talks about what businesses in Greater Manchester can do if they are affected by skills shortages, and why it's so important to get a dialogue going between employers and skills providers. Tune in and let us know your thoughts! You can contact the Chamber's LSIP team via gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk, and read our published reports on skills shortages here: https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/. More information about the Electrical Contractors' Association can be found at https://www.eca.co.uk/ To read the ECA's Charter to Recharge Electrical Skills, click here. Finally, you can find out more about Matt's company and the work they do via https://24-7group.co.uk/. *Source: Electrical Contractors' Association.

In this episode of the podcast from the Chamber's Local Skills Improvement Plan team, Richard Caulfield, Senior Policy Manager at the Greater Manchester Colleges Group, is back in the hot seat to update us on how the funds from the Local Skills Improvement Fund are being spent, and crucially, when learners will be able to reap the benefits of this. Richard also tells us about another fund - the Further Education Innovation Fund - and how businesses across Greater Manchester will be able to take advantage of it. Chris Fletcher, Policy Director at the Chamber, provides further information about the development of the Local Skills Improvement Plan and talks about how businesses can still get involved. Further information about the GM Local Skills Improvement Plan can be found here: https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/ To contact the team, email gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. For more information about the Local Skills Improvement Fund, visit: https://gmcg.ac.uk/lsif/. And to find out more about the Further Education Innovation Fund, visit: https://gmcg.ac.uk/feif/. If you'd like to attend the Innovation Roadshow that Richard mentions in this podcast, which is taking place at Wigan & Leigh College on 10th May, you can book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-reality-in-business-cdi-roadshow-wigan-tickets-875897662487

In this podcast, we're joined by Rebecca Durber, NW Area Director & Senior Policy Lead for Skills Reform at the Association of Colleges (AOC). Rebecca speaks to us off the back of the latest AOC campaign, Colleges Week 2024, where colleges across the region focused on influencing local political representatives, engaging with their stakeholders (including the business community), and celebrating their successes. As well as highlighting the positive work that colleges do in engaging with businesses in local areas and helping relieve skills shortages, Rebecca gives some useful ways in which businesses can get involved with their local colleges...ask what you can do for your college! Tune in to find out more. If you'd like to learn about the AOC and the work it does, visit: https://www.aoc.co.uk/about-us/aoc-regions/aoc-n-w. For more information about the GM Local Skills Improvement Plan, visit https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/ or contact us via gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. Thanks for listening!

We've teamed up with Manchester Central to host a panel discussion on collaboration, vision & ambitions for growth for Manchester. Joining us on the panel: Chris Fletcher Shaun Hinds Lou Cordwell OBE Holly Moore James Montrose

In this episode, we get to know Pam Shanker. Pam is an Award Winning Transformational Life and Business Coach, Founder of The Universe Café and Award Winning Property Investor. Get in touch with Pam here: Pam Shanker Coachinghttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091893625325 The Universe Café - Manifest Successhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/274786058215293 Property Investors Who Want to Implement https://www.facebook.com/groups/1365542290722656

In this podcast, the GM LSIP team talks to Tracey Wood, Assistant Principal Adult Skills and Employer Engagement at The Trafford and Stockport College Group, about the new 'Leading with Confidence' courses created to bridge skills gaps highlighted in the GM Local Skills Improvement Plan. Tracey tells us how the courses have been received by employers in the area, and why it's so important for businesses to have their say and engage with local colleges and learning providers. Tune in to find out more! Information about the courses run by Stockport and Trafford Colleges can be found here: https://stockport.tscg.ac.uk/ and https://trafford.tscg.ac.uk/ And to find out more about the GM Local Skills Improvement Plan, visit https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/ or contact the team via gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk.

Just before Christmas, we brought together Chris Fletcher, GM Chamber Policy Director & GM LSIP Contract Director, and Richard Caulfield, Senior Policy Manager at the Greater Manchester Colleges Group, to talk about the LSIP (Local Skills Improvement Plan) and the LSIF (Local Skills Improvement Fund). Chris provided an update on where we are currently with the LSIP, and Richard talked us through the LSIF - what it is, and how this Fund is being used to help bridge the skills priorities (digital, construction, net zero, etc) highlighted by employers in the LSIP. Take a listen to find out what happens when the LSIP and LSIF combine... And if you'd like to find out more about the LSIP, visit our website: https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/, or contact the team at the Chamber via gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk.

Chamber researchers, Toluwanimi Ojutiku and Subrah Krishnan-Harihara, discuss the findings from our research for the Local Skills Improvement Plan that relate to employee training. Tolu talks about employee training trends across Greater Manchester and the benefits to individuals, businesses and the economy of providing training to employees. She has written a blog about employee training which delves into some of these findings in more detail. Click here to read it. And we'd love to hear your views about employee training and your delivery preferences. Our business training survey is now open and can be accessed here. To read the Local Skills Improvement Plan for Greater Manchester and find out more about the LSIP and our research, visit www.gmlsip.co.uk, and if you'd like to contact the team, email gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. Thanks for listening - back soon!

In this week's podcast, Chamber Deputy Director of Research, Subrah Krishnan-Harihara, talks about some of the findings from our regular business survey - the Quarterly Economic Survey (QES). The QES has been running for 35 years this year, and is a business confidence survey, asking questions about how businesses are faring in terms of sales and orders, whether they're planning to recruit and what their future plans are. Subrah highlights some of the findings from the Q3 QES and how they are relevant to the LSIP, helping to provide extra data about businesses' recruitment intentions, the job roles they're recruiting for and their labour and skills requirements. If you're interested in reading more about the Chamber's Quarterly Economic Survey, follow this link: https://www.gmchamber.co.uk/chamber-research/quarterly-economic-survey/ To find out more about the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) for Greater Manchester, visit our website here. You can read the report, listen to our other podcasts, read our blog and take part in our latest survey. If you'd like to discuss your recruitment and skills challenges, please contact the team via gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk.

The Local Skills Improvement Plan team at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce focus on productivity in the latest episode of our podcast. Chamber researchers Subrah (Deputy Director of Research) and Aadya (Research Intern) discuss the 'productivity puzzle' and its relationship with skills. We touch on training and its impact on productivity and how Greater Manchester lags behind other areas with regards to training and productivity. We're keen to hear your views on training - what sort of training you receive, which delivery methods you prefer - and our survey is live to capture your views: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GMLSIPSPTY Aadya has also written a number of blogs focusing on productivity and our research so far, which can be read here: https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/blog. Finally, if you'd like to listen to our other podcasts, read our Local Skills Improvement Plan for Greater Manchester, and find out more about our work, visit the GM LSIP website: www.gmlsip.co.uk. Thanks for listening!

In the latest podcast from the Chamber's GM Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) team, Samantha and Subrah discuss the benefits of employee training. Research conducted when producing the GM LSIP shows that only 60% of businesses provide some sort of training to their employees, but with 68% of businesses struggling to recruit, should more employers look to training and up-skilling their existing teams to help fill the skills gaps? Listen to the latest podcast to find out more... For further information about the GM LSIP, our current survey on business training, local area reports focusing on the skills priorities for each borough in GM, and much more, visit www.gmlsip.co.uk. If you'd like to contact the GM LSIP team at the Chamber, email gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk.

The latest podcast from the Chamber's Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) team features Chris Fletcher, Policy Director at the Chamber and Contract Director for the the GM LSIP. Chris talks about the approval of the GM LSIP by the Department for Education, the impact that the LSIP will have on businesses and stage 2 - what happens next now the Plan has been published? We're currently collecting data about business training experiences, so if you would like to contribute, please visit: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GMLSIPSPTY To find out more about the GM LSIP and to read the published report, visit gmlsip.co.uk and if you'd like to contact the team, email gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. Thanks for listening - back again soon!

Marc Mcloughlin, Managing Director of Greenarc Vehicles, talks to Simon Cronin, Communications Manager at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, about the benefits of moving your business to electric vehicles and the help and support available.

In this episode of the podcast about the Greater Manchester Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), the Chamber's researchers, Subrah and Aadya, talk about some of the future investment plans in different boroughs of GM. Through analysing which projects are taking place in each borough, the team can match the skills shortages already apparent with the future investments taking place, and make recommendations to training providers about which skills will be needed where. Subrah and Aadya discuss some of the Local Authority plans in Greater Manchester and which skills and training would be required for each one. To find out more about the Greater Manchester LSIP, visit our website: https://www.gmlsip.co.uk, or contact our team via gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. Our employer survey (which currently focuses on green skills gaps) is open until 5th May 2023, so if you are experiencing green skills shortages in your business, please complete it here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GMLSIPO22. In the meantime, thanks for listening - tune in again soon!

This episode of the GM Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) podcast focuses on the recruitment difficulties businesses within different sectors are experiencing in Greater Manchester. Researchers at the Chamber, Subrah and Samantha, discuss what the results of our employer survey are telling us so far. Data from the employer survey will feed into the GM Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), which will include a set of actionable priorities for skills providers in each borough of Greater Manchester so that they can start to tackle recruitment difficulties with relevant training and courses - ultimately giving businesses the skilled workers they need. So, it's important to tell us about your skills and recruitment challenges. The latest iteration of our employer survey focuses on 'green' skills and asks whether businesses have the green skills they need to fulfil their business objectives. It can be completed by any business in any sector and only takes a few minutes: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GMLSIPO22 Find out more about the GM LSIP via our website https://www.gmlsip.co.uk/, or email the team via gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. Thanks for listening!

In the next episode about the Greater Manchester Local Skills Improvement Plan (GM LSIP), the Chamber's research team talks about some of the interim findings from the data we have collected so far. We discuss some of the strategic priorities of different Local Authority areas within Greater Manchester and highlight the next focus for the GM LSIP team: green skills. The next iteration of our business survey focuses on the green skills businesses are struggling to find. The team highlights some of the different green skills required for different industries and some of the challenges businesses may be experiencing when trying to meet their net zero objectives. If you have struggled to find the green skills you need for your business, please complete our short survey here to tell us more: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GMLSIPO22 Don't forget, your responses will help us formulate a set of priorities for skills providers in each borough of Greater Manchester, so that provision can be put in place to help fill your skills gaps. We hope you enjoy our latest podcast and if you'd like to contact the Chamber's LSIP team, please email gmlsip@gmchamber.co.uk. Thanks for listening!