A not-for profit Greater Manchester training group is unique in being awarded five top ratings by the Adult Learning Inspectorate.

Employment and Regeneration Partnership (ERP), part of the Manchester Enterprises Group, helps some of the region’s most disadvantaged residents to get sustainable jobs.

The inspectors were particularly impressed with ERP’s Foundation training programmes, designed to give unemployed people the skills to help them find and retain work. “There are excellent job outcomes on all adult programmes, a number of which are moving people into jobs at twice the national target,” commented the inspectors.

‘Entry to Employment’, a preparatory programme to give young people additional support in literacy and numeracy, personal and social development and vocational development, has seen over 50% of its participants progress into employment, further education or training in its first year, compared to the national average of only 34%.

Innovative recruitment initiatives with large employers such as the NHS and Manchester City Council have resulted in over 100 permanent jobs for ERP learners over the last 12 months.

David Sherlock, Chief Inspector at the Adult Learning Inspectorate said: "We are really pleased to report that learners at ERP are benefiting from the organisation's very high quality approach. When people improve their skills and achieve their qualifications, they benefit their organisation, their communities and themselves."