13/1/12
SkillsActive, the Sector Skills Council for Sport and Active Leisure, has welcomed the new five year Youth and Community Sport Strategy announced by Sport England and the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt.
The organisation hopes to sit at the heart of the delivery, helping to ensure a skilled, competent and motivated workforce is available to implement grassroots programmes.
Steve Mitchell, Head of National Partnerships at SkillsActive, explains:
“We are fully behind the new focus on sports participation for 14-25 year olds, and driving a step change in the sporting behaviour of a generation, never seen before in the UK. We also recognise the huge part SkillsActive can play in upskilling the existing workforce and training the next generation of sporting administrators, coaches and activators.
“We plan to build on our existing relationships with NGBs and the CSP network, to continue to develop a talented pool of young, dynamic and work ready individuals. Moving forward, sports clubs will need to reach further into local communities to flush out new talent. SkillsActive has already demonstrated success in this area through its involvement in programmes such as Personal Best and the World Skills London 2011 Volunteer Development Programme.
“SkillsActive would welcome the opportunity to work across Government departments to target the huge unemployment challenge the country is facing, by getting people off benefits and into work. Sport and physical activity is the perfect catalyst for radical changes in behaviour for life and building the aspirations of our young people.
“We know from our experience that working in partnership we can meet the challenges laid down by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Work and Pensions, by offering a fit for purpose qualification framework, apprenticeship programmes and job creation scheme the industry will require to sustain increases in sports participation.”
Reflecting on two of the partners named in the strategy, Steve Mitchell adds: “We are really pleased to see two of our closest partners, StreetGames and the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust (DKHLT) recognised as key partners to deliver the strategy over the next five years.”
