This exciting new build project will support the College and UCEN Manchester's Vision 2025 to revolutionise education in our city’s communities by delivering technical and vocational programmes of the highest standard – designed and delivered in partnership with employers. 

This means students will gain the knowledge and skills most valued by employers, alongside hands-on experience. Our philosophy is underpinned by a commitment to provide students with access to real career opportunities.

Our students will benefit from:

• Personalised academic and technical support with clear progression routes into further training or employment, and fantastic job prospects
• Campuses in areas with superb public transport links so they are easily accessible for people across Manchester and Greater Manchester
• Wraparound support services including housing and benefits advice, Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) support, careers information, advice and guidance, and welfare services.

Working in some of Manchester’s most deprived communities, we see the star quality in every student – from high flyers with huge ambitions to those who need more support.

The new estate will open up opportunities and help build a more inclusive economy by giving people the right skills, experience and contacts for careers in Greater Manchester’s key growth sectors. 

Local residents will also benefit from the career and apprenticeship opportunities created during the construction of our new city centre campus and redevelopment at our Openshaw, Harpurhey and Wythenshawe campuses. 

The Manchester College and UCEN Manchester are creating five campuses that will deliver superb technical education – designed and delivered in partnership with employers – in sectors that are crucial to our region’s economy over the next 10-20 years. 

By 2023, this will result in a:

• 23 per cent growth in higher technical and professional learner numbers
• Ten per cent growth in technical education for 16 to 18-year-olds
• Nine per cent growth in basic skills provision for people who need to improve their English, maths and digital skills.
   

Five main campuses will be created, designed and delivered in partnership with employers, in sectors that are crucial to our region’s economy over the next 10-20 years. 

The campus facilities will mirror the demand for skills in the region’s key economic growth sectors (as detailed below), increasing the quantity of people trained and the quality of outcomes. Put simply, an ever-increasing number of people trained with relevant qualifications and skills to fill the skills gaps in the region.

Creative and Digital Industries – City centre 

• UCEN Manchester’s Arden School of Theatre and Manchester Film School will provide technical skills for careers in the creative and performing arts, media, and digital sectors
• Manchester has become highly attractive to creative and digital media with a wealth of local talent as well as major national bodies such as the BBC at MediaCityUK 
• The increase in careers in these sectors is set to continue, with forecasting suggesting that up to 30,000 more jobs could be added to the sector by 2035. 

Business, Financial and Professional Services – City centre 

• This will equip people with the skills and industry experience they need for rewarding careers in one of Manchester’s fastest-growing sectors
• The burgeoning financial and professional services district of Spinningfields is forecast to grow rapidly over the next ten years, with demand across accounting, business, banking, insurance, legal and financial services at all levels. 

Construction and Logistics – Openshaw

• This will give people additional technical skills in key trades essential to Greater Manchester’s growth, with major infrastructure projects, advanced manufacturing, demand for housing and office space, and the need to retrofit existing buildings to meet sustainability targets.

Health and Wellbeing – Openshaw 

• There are many rewarding careers in health, wellbeing and social care, sports, exercise science and fitness, allied to key growth areas in Greater Manchester 
• Ideally located near the Etihad Stadium and Eastlands sports zone, our Openshaw campus will boast superb facilities and industry-standard training environments. 

Access to Medical Sciences – Citylabs

• Located at the heart of the booming healthcare and health sciences innovation quarter, near Manchester’s major specialist hospitals, our Citylabs campus will enable people to gain the specialist access qualifications they need for higher education university courses in medicine, nursing, biomedical sciences and more. 

We will provide routes into specialisation as well as English, maths and digital skills for people who are yet to choose a preferred technical route, or who may be returning to education. 

At our learning hubs in North and South Manchester and sitting at the heart of the community in Harpurhey and Wythenshawe, we will be able to support learners at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training). 

The courses on offer will vary by site but will include English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), English, maths, digital skills, and Level 1 and 2 courses in construction, logistics and motor vehicles, hair and beauty, hospitality, and travel and tourism at The Manchester College's Centres of Excellence.

Students will also benefit from:

• Technical and academic mentoring
• Work placements
• Pre-employment support, information, advice and guidance.

This exciting new build project will contribute to the regeneration of several core locations, in line with Manchester City Council’s strategic plans. Our construction and redevelopment projects will create:

• Apprenticeships and job opportunities for local people
• Use of local businesses and supply chain, including Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME’s), benefiting the local economy and supporting local jobs.

Our plans are aligned to large-scale regeneration proposals for the following areas:

City Centre

The city centre campus is a major strategic piece of the regeneration of the Great Ducie/Cheetham area opposite Manchester Arena, which has lain dormant since the demolition of Boddingtons Brewery in 2007, and is now set for an ambitious redevelopment and investment scheme.

Openshaw

Openshaw links to Manchester City Council’s continued regeneration of East Manchester, with exciting plans for new housing, sports and leisure facilities that build on the Etihad, National Cycling Centre velodrome and Commonwealth Games legacy. Neighbouring areas will also benefit from investment.

Citylabs

Citylabs is already one of the UK’s most successful health innovation and technology clusters and will see substantial growth in coming years, as part of the local industrial strategies for Manchester and Greater Manchester.

Harpurhey and Wythenshawe

Our Harpurhey and Wythenshawe campuses are ideally placed in areas set to see further regeneration. The Council’s Northern Gateway plans will bring affordable new housing and population growth near Harpurhey, bringing a new generation of students.

Sustainable development

Concentrating our activities at fewer campuses will enable us to be cleaner and greener. It also releases much-needed development sites in key locations for local regeneration, ensuring they are repurposed to create value for the City in other ways, contributing to and being reflective of local need.