Greater Manchester Employer Coalition

GMEC

The Greater Manchester Employer Coalition (GMEC) is a collection of around 350 business leaders who work with Government and other stakeholders to open up job and career opportunities to local people; particularly those facing significant barriers to work.

It is an employer-led forum that ensures the strategic views and actions of employers are effectively channelled to help shape the supply of employment skills provision in Greater Manchester, England

Background

Greater Manchester Employer Coalition consists of key employers from a range of private, public and voluntary sector organisations. The Coalition helps shape local and national employment and skills policy, representing the views of employers across the Greater Manchester sub-region.

The National Employment Panel Limited (NEPL), was established in 1997 and the Greater Manchester Employer Coalition is a not-for-profit organisation that is part of it and was created in 1999. The National Employment Panel Limited is an organisation recognised in understanding the methods that will help people get the right jobs, retain them and advance in the work place.

NEPL is a non-departmental advisory body which provides independent advice on welfare reform and labour market issues to Ministers in the Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

The National Employment Panel Limited changed its name and officially launched itself on Thursday 11 October 2007 as Working Ventures UK.

Working Ventures UK (WVUK) engages with employers and employment and skills providers to open up more and better jobs for people from disadvantaged communities

Structure

GMEC is a programme within the Commission for the New Economy, the public agency responsible for promoting economic prosperity in Greater Manchester, and the lead for employment and skills amongst public partners. Previously GMEC was owned by Working Ventures UK (WVVUK), a non-departmental-public-body sponsored by the Department of Work and Pensions. WVUK was founded on a structure of 10 employer coalitions that act as its operational arm, working at local level to find new opportunities and extend employer networks into new sectors and locations throughout the UK.

The 10 coalitions are:

Greater Manchester Employer Coalition,

Derbyshire Employer Coalition,

Glasgow Employer Coalition,

Birmingham Employer Coalition,

Highland Employer Coalition,

London Employer Coalition,

Merseyside Employer Coalition,

North East Employer Coalition,

South Yorkshire Employer Coalition,

West Yorkshire Employer Coalition

Through these Employer Coalitions, employers are directly engaged in the design and delivery of local employment and training programmes.

Employer Coalitions help Jobcentre Plus districts to better understand and respond to their local markets. Local business leaders chair the Coalitions and hundreds of companies and major public sector employers volunteer their time and expertise.

Coalitions are involved in a wide range of projects to develop sector pathways, encourage links between regeneration projects and employment programmes, and promote fair recruitment and retentions practices among local employers.

Operation

The Coalitions work closely with a range of organisations and their priorities reflect the needs of the local labour market. Greater Manchester Employer Coalition (GMEC) consists of one employer-led board and a broader alliance of employers that work directly with strategic partners.

It works extensively to get people into work, research labour market needs, supports employers and advises local strategic partners on the design and delivery of their services.

External links

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