Decent Work and Economic Growth
UN Sustainable Development Goal (8)
About our work
The Centre for Decent Work and Productivity focuses on understanding how decent work and productivity are hindered by employment practices and aims to engage with organisations and policy-makers, to shape the nature of decent work and employment. Current initiatives include two ESRC-funded projects: Universal Credit and Employers: exploring the demand side of UK active labour market (ALMP) policy and The Good Employment Learning Lab.
The ALMP project (2021-2023) will examine Government interventions traditionally focused on supporting unemployed people into work. The research will explore how ALMPs are understood and experienced by UK employers and how they affect the way businesses are run. It will also consider how employment services such as job centres can work more effectively with employers, leading to better outcomes for individuals and the wider economy.
Following the success of The Good Employment Learning Lab (GELL) (2021-2022), funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (2021-2022), new funding was awarded in 2023 to further develop research around improving working conditions for the adult social care sector.
The Project: Complex Fertility Journeys and the Workplace aims to raise awareness of the workplace issues around complex fertility journeys, which can include infertility, fertility treatment, miscarriage and childlessness. The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide 15% of all reproductive-age couples experience issues with infertility - an age that coincides with a key time in people’s working lives. Our research seeks to fill this gap in knowledge to help organisations better support employees through challenging journeys.
The Centre for Enterprise holds the highest level of national accreditation - the Small Business Charter award for the UK’s world-class business schools. The Enterprise Programmes team supports micro to medium-sized enterprises to futureproof their businesses. Businesses wanting to grow, innovate or evolve are able to access networks, resources, and expertise through short courses, free bootcamps, part and fully funded programmes. There are currently 14 programmes on offer with an annual turnover of £5 million. All our programmes sit under one of the following themes: Innovation and Growth, Net Zero or Digital and are either a Business School or joint Business School and Science and Engineering partnership project. Working with over 1,000 businesses across a variety of industries, we utilise our university knowledge, research, networks and industry insights to help businesses grow, evolve and innovate.
A new collaboration (2022) between business schools in Greater Manchester will support SMEs in the region to bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Open SME is a free, on-demand online learning programme for SME leaders that aims to give them the tools they need to grow their business beyond the pandemic. The programme, which will be self-directed by the business owners, aims to help at least 400 SMEs, to increase productivity, profitability, resilience and sustainability.
Launched in 2021,‘Help to Grow’ will support small businesses to improve their management and digital adoption and reach their growth potential. It will lay the foundations of the recovery, building on the momentum of Covid-related digital adoption and supporting small businesses to adapt their business models and operations. Over the next 3 years the team will work with an ambitious target of 900 SME businesses.
In 2021, The Centre for Enterprise launched Skills Bootcamps in Digital, working with colleagues in Computing and Maths and SODA. These free Skills Bootcamps run over 14 to 16 weeks, and are designed to help employed or recently unemployed individuals to reskill or upskill and accelerate into their dream job. Those looking for a new opportunity are guaranteed a fast-track to an interview with a local employer. Current employers can also use these bootcamps to upskill their current team to fulfil their current skills gap. This programme is fully funded by the Department for Education and we are one of 35 HEI providers nationally, partnered with Manchester Digital, The Specialists Hub and The Heroworx Institute.
Launched in 2020, the Greater Manchester AI Foundry is led by a group of North West universities to help the region’s SMEs thrive in a new era of digital technology. So far, 101 SMEs have undertaken this which provides insight into the latest AI technologies, market opportunities and ideas to develop new products. Businesses can then progress onto phase two, a technical support programme to help companies develop proof-of-concept for new products and services. Currently 20 SMEs have progressed to phase two with more due as the programme continues. The project has received £3m from the European Regional Development Fund via the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with partners delivering a further £3m in matched funding.