Burnham plans ‘apprentice halls’ for Greater Manchester

Andy Burnham, the newly re-elected mayor of Greater Manchester, has pledged to pilot hall-style accommodation for apprentices over the next four years.

The idea is to create “apprentice halls” to help young people move to the region to take advantage of training opportunities.

In his manifesto, Burnham said he was “serious” about giving academic and technical education pathways an “equal level”, including in terms of the accommodation that is available to learners.

While details of how the plan will work remain scarce, the Labor mayor said he would work on it with “colleagues in the co-operative sector”.

He added: “The ability to live independently at 18 should be available to all young people, regardless of their path.”

Burnham’s office did not respond to requests for additional details by press time.

Land colleges, which tend to be in rural locations, often provide residential accommodation for their students and apprentices.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service said other training providers may offer accommodation for apprentices in residential pathways, although this is “not common”.

It is understood Burnham’s idea, if it went ahead, would be the first halls of residence of its kind offered by a city-region.

Burnham’s detailed mandate of powers

Despite the lack of detail on his commitment, Burnham’s skills manifesto is the most detailed of the 10 mayors elected on May 2.

The mayor – who has led the authority since 2017 – said that from September this year, Year 9 students in Greater Manchester should be able to enroll in T Levels using a “central application system”.

This is part of Greater Manchester’s ‘baccalaureate’ technical education pathway – called the Mbacc – which encourages learners to study a core set of GCSEs before progressing to post-16 technical qualifications such as T Levels, BTECs or apprenticeships.

They would then move on to a job, an apprenticeship, a diploma or a higher technical qualification.

Burnham has pledged that by 2030, all Year 11 students wanting to take technical options will be able to apply on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s careers website.

He called the Mbacc “the first integrated employer-led technical education system” in the UK.

He also pledged to set a “big and visible” target for the number of apprenticeship starts for each year between 2025 and 2030.

What have other mayors promised for skills?

A key commitment from mayors in the larger regions has been to lobby the government for more freedom in spending skills funding after 16.

Currently, significant amounts of money handed to devolved authorities are limited for initiatives such as Skills Bootcamps and Free Courses for Jobs.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said he would push the government for a “groundbreaking” devolution deal similar to that agreed with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

Burnham and Rotheram also said they wanted to see a “more devolved use” of Apprenticeship Levy funds to ensure they were spent locally.

Despite having England’s biggest devolved skills budget – more than £320 million – Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, made limited reference to adult education and training in his manifesto.

Khan, who promised to “continue” to support Londoners with free basic courses, did not respond to requests for comment.

Other notable pledges from regional mayors include a ‘West Yorkshire Promise’ for every resident with a ‘soft skills’ credential in communication, teamwork and problem solving.

Kim McGuinness, the mayor of the newly formed North East devolved region, has pledged to build a “green energy and engineering super academy” to train at least 1,000 people a year.

However, the mayor’s teams also did not provide further details when approached by the FE week.

An impossible promise?

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, who now oversees England’s second-biggest budget for adult education, made skills a priority during his campaign.

This included a commitment to guarantee an apprenticeship to every young person in the region who wanted one.

However, he could not yet share with FE week any other details on how this would be possible.

Since winning, Parker has repeated his pledge to “review the skills agenda” in the region as part of a plan to ensure local businesses can fill their skills gaps.

His comments about the West Midlands Combined Authority’s performance on powers under former mayor Andy Street prompted a defensive tweet from a former senior member of Street’s team.

Clare Boden Hatton, who was chief operating officer of employment and skills from 2022 to 2024, said: “More can always be done. But to suggest that this has not happened underestimates the work of our colleagues and suppliers in the (West Midlands).”