Each year Manchester Digital conducts The Skills Audit - an annual audit of over 250 digital and technology businesses.
As the most connected tech and digital trade body in the UK, we take advantage of our unique position to conduct research that provides industry insights and data about the local economy that would otherwise not be available.
This year we’re slightly changing our approach and asking the individuals that make up Greater Manchester’s tech and digital industry to complete a short, standalone survey, that will be separate from the traditional survey we ask businesses to fill out.
So, if you work in a digital and tech company, or hold a digital or tech-related position in a non-tech company, or have access to your business's workforce demographics, we need your support.
This important research, when published, forms the policy of businesses, government and regional and national stakeholders trying to understand emerging trends and prioritise the issues that need to be addressed.
What's more, playing your part also benefits those in our community facing poverty; each completed survey generates a one pound donation to Manchester’s homeless charity, Mustard Tree.
Why is the Skills Audit important?
The Skills Audit is important because it is the catalyst behind many of the region’s most effective industry-led talent and skills programmes – helping industry to get upstream of the skills shortage and secure Greater Manchester’s potential for future growth.
Initiatives that have come about or have been influenced by the Skills Audit include:
Greater Manchester Digital Strategy - Andy Burnham’s strategy to help Greater Manchester become a world-leading digital city region.
Digital Skills Festival - the annual festival of digital talent and skills, including Talent Day – the largest teach and digital careers fair in the North came as a result of Skills Audit findings.
Digital Futures - Our GMCA-backed programme that aims to encourage more young people into our tech industry.
Digital Her - "If she can see it, she can be it" The alarming Skills Audit statistics around gender diversity were the driving factors behind this programme that sets up ring-fenced opportunities for young women.
Digital Future Stars Apprenticeship - The lack of software developers resulted in us creating our own industry-designed and industry-backed apprenticeship programme.
What the Skills Audit gives to business
All good business decisions should be based on data.
That is what the Skills Audit provides – independently-funded research that results in hyper-local insights across the whole ecosystem from multinationals to startups.
This document will be the ideal partner when forming your business strategy, providing data that will help business planning, forecast, growth and future proofing.
To provide this insight, we need business support, please complete the survey, here.
