Greater Manchester has a population of £2.7million with over 500,000 people aged 20-34, making it the largest regional millennium population. The City also has the largest student population in Europe with over 100,000 students across 5 universities, producing approximately 36,000 graduates annually. More than 60% of graduates stay in the North West region to work, providing businesses with a highly skilled and sustainable pool of graduate talent. As such, 80 of the FTSE 100 companies are currently represented in Manchester.

It is a dynamic regional city and a global destination for business, with a number of leading sectors including advanced manufacturing, financial and business services, life science and healthcare and a digital and creative sector worth more than £4.4 billion annually. Some of the world’s leading brands including Amazon, BNY Mellon, Kellogg’s, Boohoo, Jaguar Land Rover and Cisco, have chosen to make Greater Manchester their home. As a result, Manchester has seen job growth of 84% between 2002-2015, and the Annual UK regional Economic Forecast anticipates no slowdown, with Manchester’s employment growth expected to sit at 1.2% a year, equivalent to 16,300 new jobs.