Summary
Manchester Digital has created Switchboard to remove barriers preventing tech and digital employers from offering entry-level opportunities. The platform handles matching, interviewing and safeguarding, reducing the administrative burden that has historically deterred firms from participating despite goodwill to help.
The initiative responds to a documented shortage of entry-level roles in the sector, exacerbated by economic uncertainty, higher costs and AI automation of junior tasks. Alan Milburn's interim review highlighted this gap as a 'generational fault line', with one in eight young people currently not in education, employment or training.
Public sector procurement is expected to increasingly weight placements and apprenticeships as social value requirements, meaning companies bidding for public contracts will need to demonstrate their contribution to youth employment. Manchester Digital is positioning Switchboard to help Greater Manchester's digital employers meet both a societal need and a commercial imperative.
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Common questions
- What is this article about?
- With Andy Burnham now Prime Minister pushing a skills agenda forged in Greater Manchester, Manchester Digital has launched Switchboard, a platform designed to simplify how tech employers offer work experience, apprenticeships and placements to young people. The move addresses a widening gap between education and industry needs, with one in eight young people now not in education, employment or tra
- When was this published?
- This article was published on 31 July 2026.
- Who published this article?
- This article was published by Manchester Digital.