Working with the local community and region
Manchester NTI is based at Central Park Manchester, located in North Manchester. The East and North Manchester areas have been in decline for the last 30 years due to global economic changes and this has had major detrimental effects on the local and surrounding communities. Unemployment is currently twice the national average. The vision for Manchester NTI and the Central Park Manchester is to create a facility to educate and train the people of North and East Manchester and to supply them with a long-term opportunity for employment and wealth creation. Local residents will have access to training that addresses the skills gap in ICT, providing them with the opportunity to take advantage of new jobs created at Central Park Manchester and other locations.
The aspiration for the North West is to become an international centre for the development of high growth sectors including computer software and services, creative and new media industries, financial and professional services, and medical equipment and technology. A key aim of the North West Development Agency's Regional Strategy is "facilitating and linking business networks with higher and further education institutions and business support knowledge and pool resources". Manchester NTI will do all of these things in one location to benefit the whole region. The effect of all of these agencies working together with other NTIs (Chester, Lancashire and Cumbria) will be an increase in the skills base across the whole
of the North West .