Know your options.
Play to your strengths. Explore your choices.
How GMACS is responding to COVID-19
The Greater Manchester Apprenticeship & Careers Service – or GMACS – is here to help you plan your future.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has set up a Young Person’s Task Force led by Diane Modahl, who has competed in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. She’s from Greater Manchester and now works to help young people in the North West achieve their full potential. They're consulting young people, like you, about what they want and need to create a brilliant future.
Find your career path
See what's available to help you figure out your next steps.
Apprenticeships across Greater Manchester
Discover different apprenticeship types, get application hints and tips, and apply for vacancies.
Build your career plan
Create your own online action plan to kickstart your career. Explore options, review goals and adapt to reflect your progress.
Education & training
Find out more about different education and training pathways and see what could suit you.
Activities
Discover new ways to develop your interests and extra skills to help you get ahead.
Explore the
world of work
Get an idea what jobs in Greater Manchester could be a good fit for you. See which industries and job types are on the up. Find out what local employers look for in recruits. And discover more about work-related schemes.
Internships
Build your knowledge and skills through work experience.
Work shadowing
Get a first-hand view about what a job is really like.
Holiday schemes and placements
Explore work placements during the Easter or summer holidays.
Mentoring
Get personal help to progress your career with a mentor.
Life is about looking ahead.
When you're faced with big choices in life - like what comes next after school, or choosing between employment, training and university - it's good to know your options. There's always more than one route you can take to where you want to be.
Discover Apprenticeships
An Apprenticeship is a way to combine a salary, learning new skills, trying new things and boosting your knowledge once you have left school. Pandemic getting you down? Many employers are now offering Apprenticeships remotely (online) so you still have opportunities.
Boost your skills
Finding a job can feel like a challenge when employers expect you to have a lot of experience and you are still building it up. The good news? You already have personal skills and strengths that youth-friendly employers want.
Tips for staying resilient in your job search
Sometimes job hunting takes a bit of time. How can you make the most of your job search and have enough energy to keeping giving your best? These tips will help.
Support & opportunities in Greater Manchester
The employers and organisations of Greater Manchester are making a commitment to help you know your options for the big choices you make in life. Click here to see what they are offering. Support and opportunities you might not have known about before are just a click away.
What are the top 5 career sectors in
Greater Manchester?
Finance Officer
Job Description
Finance officers help to manage the finances of an organisation by keeping track of its income and controlling its spending. This may include recording financial transactions and producing financial forecasts, arranging payroll, invoices and expenses. Finance officers may also create regular financial reports and budgets.
Explore this sector All sectors
Salary Range
£18,500 - £40,000
Working environment
Most finance officers work in an office environment, but you can work in any industry, from banking to creative and media organisations.
Hours
Minimum 35 hours a week
Opportunities
The skills and experience you build as a finance officer could enable you to work in many different industries. With experience, finance officers could train to become an accountant or move up to a senior officer role or finance manager.
Marketing Executive
Job Description
Marketing executives promote a company's products, services or brand. They do this through researching customer thoughts and feelings and market trends to inform campaigns. They write content for print, such as adverts and magazines, they organise and promote events and marketing campaigns online and via social media.
Explore this sector All sectors
Salary Range
£18,000- £35,000
Working environment
Usually office based.
Hours
Minimum 37 hours with evening and weekend work
Opportunities
Marketing executives could progress into management and also cross into online and digital marketing. Other opportunities may include freelancing, advertising, or public relations and communications.
Community Nurse
Job Description
District or community nurses mainly visit patients at home. They can be assisted by nursing auxiliaries who may visit to assist with tasks which need two workers. Their role involves things such as: support for patient and carer after hospital discharge, assist in coordinating care needs and ensuring equality of health care for vulnerable people.
Explore this sector All sectors
Salary Range
£23,213- £30,178
Working environment
You could work in a variety of different environments such as clinics and health centres, residential accommodation and patients’ homes.
Hours
Minimum 37 hours usually in shifts.
Opportunities
Some nurses feel so at home in a community nurse job that they apply there as a newly qualified nurse. Whichever you choose, there are so many different nursing specialities to explore and career paths to choose from, you will never run out of options.
CNC Machinist
Job Description
Computer numerically controlled (CNC) machinists make precision parts for the engineering and manufacturing industries. Programming the CNC machine tool with data taken from technical drawings, working out the most efficient order to carry out machining tasks, choosing the right tools for each stage, setting the cutting speeds and tolerance levels, operating the machine, checking the work meets quality and technical standards, maintaining equipment.
Explore this sector All sectors
Salary Range
£15,000-£30,000
Working environment
You could work in a factory
Hours
42-44 hours per week, you could work evening/ weekends and shifts
Opportunities
With experience and further training, you could move into a supervisory role. You could also move into quality inspection or become an engineering technician.
Software Developer
Job Description
A software developer talks through requirements with the client and the development team. They take part in technical design and progress meetings, writing or amending computer code, testing software and fixing problems, keeping accurate records of the development process, changes and results, carrying out trials and quality checks before release, maintaining and supporting systems once they're up and running.
Alternative titles for this job include Programmer Software developers design, build and test computer programs for business, education and leisure services.
Explore this sector All sectors
Salary Range
£20,000 - £70,000
Working environment
You could work at a client's business or in an office.
Hours
37 to 40 hours per week including evenings and weekends
Opportunities
With experience, you could become a senior developer or a project manager, with planning or research responsibilities. You could move into related areas like systems design, IT architecture and business systems analysis.
You could also set up your own business or work as a consultant in most areas of the economy, for example business services, finance, cyber security, telecommunications and healthcare.
Quick Questions
You have to stay in some form of education or training until you are 18 but you've got a lot of choice in how you make that happen.
Once you've done your GCSEs or their equivalent, you can go on to do A-Levels. Or you can choose to do a different equivalent course, with hands-on experience and no exams (like studying for a BTEC). You can also mix and match. Some people do an A-Level and BTEC combo!
If you're not quite ready for a job or apprenticeship and you're aged 16-24, you can apply for a traineeship.
You can earn while you learn with apprenticeships, even in times of pandemic, thanks to virtual apprenticeships that take place online.
If studying for qualifications is not the problem but your current school environment is, you can always look into transferring to a different school or sixth form college.
Whatever you choose, see it as doors opening, not closing. You can do a BTEC and go onto to do a degree. You can do A-Levels then follow them up with a Degree Apprenticeship where the employer pays for your degree.
There's a lot of room for you to move. Visit our education and training zone for more tips.
You have to be in some form of structured education or training until you are 18 - after that, you can do what you want!
You can choose to do further education courses in a college - these will help you learn career-based skills.
You can do an undergraduate degree at university.
You can apply for a Degree Apprenticeship where you work for an employer and they pay for your degree in a subject that will grow your career.
You can apply for Apprenticeships to earn a salary while you learn skills and get a qualification.
Finally... you can, of course, head straight into the world of work and look for jobs.
Maybe you're trying to choose between sixth form and college after your GCSEs. You actually have three choices:
School sixth form (either in your current school or a different one, often offering A-Levels and/or BTECs)
Sixth form college (similar, but not in a school and offering more variety, including higher education diplomas)
College (often very large, andoffering even more courses - like apprenticeships).
Your sixth form will feel very familiar, and you'll see people younger than you there. There are no students below the age of 16 in colleges and it's a bit more informal, so you'll be expected to manage your own time and study more, but you'll also meet lots more people and have a wider choice of subjects and courses to study.
Targeted youth Support Service
Targeted Youth Support Service - they can help you find your career path if you are aged 15-18 and not in education, work or training.
Breakthrough UK Ltd
Breakthrough UK Ltd - are you young, disabled and living in Manchester, Trafford, Stockport or Bury? Breakthrough UK can support you in finding employment and work-related training.
Greater Manchester's commitment to you
These employers and organisations of Greater Manchester have committed to help you know your options for the big choices you make in life. Click here to see what they are offering. Support and opportunities you might not have known about before are just a click away.
Local events
Check our events page for all kinds of oportunities and events to help you get ahead. Careers fairs, open days, online CV workshops... whenever we hear of an opportunity we spread the word.
Callum, PR executive, MC2
After attending Pendleton College in Salford, the opportunity to earn a wage and continue learning at the same time attracted Callum to an apprenticeship.
Joel, HR apprentice, Bury Council
After a year studying computing, Joel realised university wasn’t for him and decided to take an apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships across Greater Manchester
Allied Health Professions
The Allied Health Professions (AHP) cover 14 roles in health and social care, including dietitians, paramedics and radiographers. Roles support patients at all life stages, help prevent ill health, and enable people to live full and active lives. Entry and training routes vary, but you can qualify for some roles through a degree apprenticeship.
Digital Marketing
An apprenticeship is an excellent way to start a career in digital marketing and earn a salary whilst also being able to study and achieve qualifications.
As a Digital Marketing Apprentice you will have the chance to work across digital teams and disciplines, to learn about all areas of the marketing mix and become a true digital marketing professional, all whilst earning a salary and achieving a BSc (Hons) degree in Digital Marketing. Click the link below for a current Digital Marketing Apprenticeship role to see an example of what is available.
Our Pass
Are you aged 16-18? Get free bus travel across Greater Manchester on the local bus network, half price selected Metrolink tickets, and discounts on various events with Our Pass.
Greater Manchester Youth Combined Authority
Want to help tackle key issues for young people in Greater Manchester? If you’re aged 11-18 (or up to 25 with additional needs), why not join a Working Group and help bring projects to life? Working Groups meet monthly in Manchester city centre
Need extra help?
Use the chat icon (10am-5pm) or email us.
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