Green Futures

By 2035, Greater Manchester will have future-proofed education and learning pathways so that every young person or employment seeker can access good, sustainable jobs – reducing the number of people not in education, employment or training and creating hope for the future. In doing so, we will help build a Greater Manchester workforce fit for a greener future.

Groundwork can fill a distinctive gap: meeting young people and adults where they are, offering no-wrong-door access to support, and bridging the space between education and employment. We will help create an all-age employment and skills pathway in which aspiration is connected to opportunity, employers influence careers advice and workforce development, and people can secure meaningful work with purpose.

This ambition reaches beyond conventional definitions of green skills. It includes the wider green economy: energy, retrofit, nature restoration, water management, climate resilience and the community-facing roles that will make the transition fair and effective.

Opportunity & need

Economic inactivity remains a major challenge. Poor health, low confidence, caring responsibilities and exclusion from education can all block routes into work.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester’s regeneration and green economy need a larger, more diverse workforce to deliver investment in retrofit, energy, water management, nature recovery and climate resilience. However, access to these careers is fragmented. Entry-level roles are scarce, smaller employers often can’t offer apprenticeships, and careers advice rarely reflects the full range of green jobs.

Inclusive pathways and high-quality technical and alternative routes are needed, especially for young people who don’t follow a university pathway or who face poverty, exclusion, additional learning needs or care experience.

What will change?

Green Futures will create a purposeful pathway from confidence-building and participation through to learning, technical skills, work experience and career progression. It will align with the MBacc Construction and Green Economy gateway and connect residents to local growth opportunities.

Green Careers Academies will have a clear place in Greater Manchester’s education, employment and skills ecosystem. They will extend Groundwork’s 14–19 alternative education offer while remaining open to adults changing career, seeking work or being referred through support services.

Delivery model

Each local offer will bring together VCFSE partners, schools, colleges, health providers, careers services, employers and local agencies, combining accessible referral routes with open-access activity in green and outdoor settings.
The education pathway will offer:

• Alternative curriculum support for Years 9–11
• Technical and sustainability study programmes for Years 12–13, with work experience and career planning
• Clear progression into further education, apprenticeships, jobs with training and our Green Careers Academies
• Coaching and wellbeing support throughout

Groundwork will lead a network of education, environmental and employer partners.

Each Academy will offer a 12-month employment contract, Level 2 or 3 sector training, supporting qualifications, mentoring and a progression portfolio.

Initial pathways are:

Who benefits?

• Environmental organisations seeking to strengthen their workforce, partnership capacity and long-term viability.
• 14-19 year olds at risk of not earning or learning, those who have struggled within mainstream education, and young people with additional learning needs.
• Adults seeking to start, change or progress in their career, especially people facing barriers to accessing or sustaining work.
• People interested in careers in construction, nature, energy, retrofit, water and the wider green economy.
• Employers seeking a more diverse, work-ready local talent pipeline.

Why us?

Groundwork Greater Manchester is an Ofsted-registered education provider with a strong record of delivering inclusive, accredited and non-accredited learning. We support people to start careers in the natural environment, construction and the wider green economy.

Our flexible, creative and experiential learning is underpinned by an employment coaching or youth-work-led approach, providing the personal development support that many learners need to access and sustain education or employment. As an employer and service provider in construction, the natural environment, energy and retrofit, we can help learners see and access real employment pathways.

We bring active employer and delivery networks across Greater Manchester.