Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, will officially be opening the Manchester hub today
London and Manchester, UK – 28th July 2022 – Emerging talent management consultancy, Grayce and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, are officially announcing the opening of Grayce’s two new £2m+ collaborative workspaces in Manchester and London today, along with a further £2m invested in building its training development programmes. In a bid to future proof the employability of young people by equipping them with the necessary skills now needed in this digital-first era, Grayce has also expanded on its partnership programmes to improve digital inclusion and social mobility in tech.
Grayce’s new collaboration hubs, along with the training investment, directly supports its rapidly growing Analyst community in developing the most-in-demand skills across industries, in data, tech and digital. The workspaces are vital in building on the interpersonal and tech skills of young professionals and recent graduates, while promoting collaborative learning, through Grayce’s three dedicated Development Programmes – Change+, Data+ and Tech+.
In support of this critical investment into levelling up in the North and in celebration of the expanded partnership programme, Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, will be in attendance to officially open the Manchester hub today.
Grayce expands partnership programmes to improve social mobility
Grayce is committed to go above and beyond to ensure equal opportunities for all. This is why it has a carefully selected partners programme to provide new opportunities to improve social mobility and further its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
The consultancy is now a signatory of the Tech Talent Charter, whose goal is that the UK tech sector can become a diverse and truly inclusive community, accepting of people from all backgrounds. Grayce is also partnered with CFTE, a social responsibility initiative and outreach partnership where from Grayce’s Analyst community and Delivery Management Team have previously helped deliver sessions designed to boost students’ employability.
Grayce has also joined Manchester Digital to run industry insight sessions at FinTech forums and Digital Skills festivals, to champion diversity and emerging talent in tech to help bridge the skills gap. Additionally, Manchester Digital run Digital Her, which is supported by Grayce’s Women in Tech drive as a way to further promote its sponsorship initiative and attract more applicants to Grayce’s programmes and scholarship offerings.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester said “It’s great to see partnerships of this kind coming to the region. We want to ensure that everyone in Greater Manchester, whatever their age, location or situation, can benefit from the opportunities digital brings, including equipping our young people with the skills they need and supporting those wanting to future proof their employability. Investment of this kind will do just that.
“I’m also pleased to see the importance of digital inclusion recognised through these important partnerships, we have to make a big commitment to combat digital exclusion, the consequences of not doing so are severe – with our people at risk of further social isolation, lack of equal opportunities and not being able to access support.”
Geoff Smith, CEO of Grayce commented, “We are hiring more graduates than ever before and are committed to giving as many talented young people as we can the best possible start to their career. Our partnerships take this one step further and together, we will be able to provide more opportunities for people from all different backgrounds wanting to learn new digital skills.
“With the world of work constantly changing, we understand the importance of offering flexible and remote working. However, we also recognise that many young professionals and new graduates are craving in-person interactions and the chance to learn collaboratively together, some of whom have never set foot in an office or met their colleagues face-to-face before. That’s why we’re investing millions in our new collaborative workspaces, where we’ll be giving our Analysts the chance to learn through their peers and colleagues, bounce ideas off each other readily and build long-lasting and meaningful working relationships.”
Growth strategy
This all comes amid a period of rapid growth for Grayce. Its intake of Analysts has increased by 95% in the last 12 months alone, and another 450 graduates will be hired this year. To date, the consultancy has helped start the careers of over 2000 graduates and is now servicing 65% more clients than it was in 2016 as the demand for skilled professionals in change, data and tech continues to rise. This has seen Grayce’s turnover increase from £10m in 2019/20 to £30m in 2021/22, showing a 190% increase over three years, with an 89% increase in turnover for the most recent fiscal year compared to the year before. Furthermore, the last three years have seen Grayce increase its employed staff from 249 to 637. The FT1000 Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies 2022 recognised Grayce as the 8th fastest growing Management Consultancy in the UK.
Senior strategic hires
As part of Grayce’s ambitious growth strategy, it is also adding new hires to its senior management team. Kate Davies has joined the business in January as COO, bringing with her a wealth of experience as a senior Operations Director, having worked across business change, technology transformation, L&D and international resourcing for many years.
Sarah Marshall has joined as Learning & Development Programme Manager, and Dugald McIntosh joins as Practice Director, focused on building Grayce’s Energy and Health Practices.
Vertical practice growth
Grayce’s vertical offering has expanded in order to meet the growing demand of tech skills in various industries. This has led to the hiring of Product Leaders and the pivoting of the Retail Practice to Consumer Tech as the Retail industry moves into a recession. Grayce now serves 9 key verticals with the newer additions of Energy, Utilities & Health. The consultancies 9 verticals are: Financial Services; Consumer Tech; Insurance; Energy, Utilities & Health; Pharma & Life Sciences; Legal; FinTech and B2B Tech; Transport & Logistics and Channel partners.