We are delighted to announce that Manchester Digital will be working in partnership with The Prince’s Trust to deliver an innovative digital skills project as part of the Sustainable Futures Fund.
We know that there are increasingly challenging barriers for young people to enter the job market, particularly with the impact of the pandemic, and for those young people who are not in employment, education or training, even more so.
We will be working with Wigan Council and employer partners such as Auto Trader, BJSS and Zuhlke to design and deliver an exciting new digital skills training programme that will provide mentoring and training in some of the future-focused, non-coding related job roles and skillsets that businesses report as growing in importance for them in the next 3-5 years within the industry.
Young people taking part will learn about a variety of roles such as Digital Project Management, User Experience Design and Research, and Digital Marketing for business, and will be able to put their learning into practice through a live project brief from employers whilst gaining vital work experience.
The strength of this programme lies within its integrated collaboration model, ensuring the young people we work with are holistically supported through the programme and beyond.
The timing of this project provides an important positive summer learning provision in Wigan for young people to get involved in.
If you think you could help by being a mentor as part of our programme or are from a diverse background or route into tech and would be able to talk about your career, please get in touch.
If you’re a business that is committed to truly diversifying your workforce and early careers, please get in touch as we’d love to talk to you about offering an opportunity to one of the young people we’re working with.
The leader of Wigan Council, Councillor David Molyneux said: “Equipping our young people with the skill they need to grow as future leaders is a key priority for the council.
“This programme will provide vital expertise and advice to the next generation, helping them to grow in confidence and excel in their careers. It will also complement the opportunities we created in 2019 through the Apprenticeships for Young People scheme, which helped our young people get onto the career ladder in specific fields, including digital.
“The importance of this sector has risen in recent years but we have seen the value of digital capabilities even more-so throughout the pandemic. We look forward to working with Manchester Digital and The Princes Trust to watch more of our young people flourish and we can’t wait to see their creativity come to the fore.”
Employer partners said: "This project will really start to create pathways for a more diverse group of young people to access opportunities within our industry. We strongly believe that training programmes codesigned and delivered by expertise from within the industry have the most impact. We’re looking forward to helping to elevate awareness of and connection to diverse real role models for young people in Wigan to be inspired. "
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Sustainable Futures Fund
The ambition of the Sustainable Futures Fund is not only to support young people at a time of great need, but to enable Greater Manchester to come out of the pandemic looking confidently into the future – aligning with a clear plan for growing industries providing sustainable, good quality, ‘future-focused’ jobs in the region.
Through the fund, partners will be working closely with both employers and local authorities, to create and embed employment pathways for young people to progress into specific sectors that are evidenced as key to the area’s growth. Projects will also enable young people to develop the foundational digital skills needed in the modern workplace, along with supporting their mental health and well-being.
Projects will also enable young people to develop the foundational digital skills needed in the modern workplace, along with supporting their mental health and well-being.
The Prince’s Trust
The Prince’s Trust helps young people all over the UK to build their confidence and skills and supports them into jobs, education and training. Founded by The Prince of Wales in 1976, the charity supports 11 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed, struggling at school and at risk of exclusion.
Many of the young people helped by The Trust’s youth support workers and mentors are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness, mental health problems, or have been in trouble with the law. The courses offered by The Trust give young people the practical and financial support needed to stabilise their lives, helping develop self-esteem and skills for work. Three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training.
Our Partners
