Delivered across Greater Manchester and funded in full by the ESF/SFA, Skills for Employment was led by One Manchester and supported by; Bolton at Home, First Choice Homes Oldham, ForViva, Jigsaw Housing Group, Northwards, Stockport Homes, Onward Homes and Wythenshawe Community Housing Group.

Skills for Employment (SfE) offered unemployed adults support to develop a personalised training and support plan to help improve skills and/or find sustainable employment. Manchester Athena provided accredited learning, work preparation (non-accredited learning) and work experience opportunities to customers across Greater Manchester.

Apprenticeship levy

The apprenticeship levy is designed to encourage businesses to invest more in work-based learning.
Gone are restrictions on age and in are opportunities for companies to look at how they develop existing talent as well as bring in new using the apprenticeship model.

New trailblazer apprenticeship standards allowed companies from a particular sector to come together and put forward what they wanted from apprentices leading to the new apprenticeship standards.

In housing, this was completed by the Foundations in Housing trailblazer led by The Aspire Group which included partners from across Housing including the Chartered Institute of Housing.