SkillsActive

09/05/12

SkillsActive has been crowned winner of the prestigious Gold Medal for the ‘Award for Invaluable Volunteering Project’ at the 2012 Podium Awards on Thursday, May 3, 2012.

Top honours were awarded to the Sector Skills Council for Sport and Active Leisure for its involvement in the ‘Personal Best’ flagship training programme, designed to harness the unique motivating force of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Organisers Podium, the further and higher education unit for the 2012 Games, recognised the sector skills council’s development, leadership and coordination role in the programme and voted SkillsActive best in category ahead of Host Borough Colleges and Universities South West.

The Personal Best programme, offered at 50 centres across the UK including further education colleges and private training providers, uses the prospect of becoming a Games Time Volunteer in 2012 as an inspiration to attract eligible people to undertake a Level 1 qualification, take part in volunteering and ultimately to move into employment.

Steve Mitchell, Head of National Partnerships at SkillsActive, comments: “It is fantastic to have our part in the delivery of the Personal Best programme so publically recognised.”

“It is also extremely rewarding to see so many young graduates from the programme finding jobs, having become better prepared to enter the workforce.”

Paul Deighton, CEO LOCOG said; “Colleges and Universities have played an integral role in supporting London 2012. I congratulate Skills Active on winning a gold medal at the Podium Awards. Personal Best is a tremendous example of how the power of the Games is being used to inspire people to make a real and lasting difference.”

Since launching in 2008 the Programme has enrolled over 5,400 individuals and nearly 2,000 of these have already achieved a Level 1 award in preparation for event volunteering (Personal Best).

To date, a quarter of graduates enrolled on Personal Best have successfully found employment. It has attracted over 40 per cent of participants from black and ethnic minorities and 22 per cent of participants have a long term disability / health problem or learning difficulty.

The programme is jointly led by Department of Work and Pensions and Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

The 2012 Podium Awards is a prestigious one-off celebration recognising the vital role that UK colleges and universities play in delivering the London 2012 Games. It showcases the very best of further and higher education sectors. Over 200 nominations across nine categories were received for diverse Olympic and Paralympic Games related projects, programmes and partnerships produced by further and higher education providers across the UK.

SkillActive's Steve Mitchell accepts the Gold award for Personal Best, see the video here.

This section contains important updates on the Apprenticeship frameworks and other news relevant to Apprenticeships.

25 January 2012

 English apprenticeship providers and employers acting on the behalf of apprentices will soon be able to request Apprenticeship certificates online.
 
The Alliance of Sector Skills Councils is now the Certifying Authority for England using the Apprenticeship Certificates England (ACE) system, following changes to the Apprenticeship certification system.
 
From 10 February 2012, apprenticeship providers / employers acting on the behalf of apprenticeswill be able to use the ACE online system to request certificates from sector skills bodies (SSBs) and sector skills councils (SSCs), such as SkillsActive.
 
SSBs and SSCs will then issue Apprenticeship certificates, providing the Apprenticeship framework requirements have been met.
 
Key dates
•  On 10 February 2012, SkillsActive will begin issuing Apprenticeship certificates via ACE
•  SkillsActive will continue to issue certificates against claims submitted on the current paper based system until 31 March 2012.
•  After 1 April 2012, SkillsActive will only accept requests from people registered on the ACE system
 
To request a certificate using the ACE system, please register on the ACE website. SkillsActive will issue a username and password to you within 5 – 7 working days.

New certificates
If you request an Apprenticeship certificate using the ACE system, you will receive the new certificates with gold (higher apprenticeship), silver (advanced apprenticeship) or bronze (intermediate apprenticeship) foil seals. If you use the paper based system, you will receive the older version of the certificate.
 
New fees
•  Apprenticeship certification claims submitted via the paper based system until 31 March 2012 – £25
•  Apprenticeship certification claims submitted via ACE – £22
 
activepassports to link with ACE
SkillsActive is working to integrate activepassports into the ACE certification process.
 
Providers will soon be able to use activepassports to track a linked apprentice’s qualifications and the new statutory Guided Learning Hour requirement.
 
Following further development, it is hoped activepassport will populate ACE with the required certification information. This will enable providers to better track and manage their apprentices and, ultimately, help streamline the certification process.

Please keep an eye on your email inbox for further details, including activepassport package pricing.

17 November 2011

The Skills Funding Agency has advised SkillsActive that the ERR awards will no longer have a value on Learning Aims Reference Application as stand alone qualifications.  However, the Skills Funding Agency has calculated an enhanced amount of funding into the competence qualification's (NVQ) funding to cover the delivery of the ERR component of the framework in our sector.

The funding has not disappeared – it is still there but has been captured in the main component of the framework. 

SkillsActive apologies if this change has caused concern. However, it was brought in without advance consultation. We hope this notice allays your concerns.

Apprenticeships are a cost effective way to recruit and train employees. They enable apprentices to earn money while gaining hands-on experience and nationally recognised qualifications.

SkillsActive works with employers to ensure Apprenticeships across our sector deliver the knowledge and skills their business needs.

Employers

Fill the skills gaps in your company and build a highly loyal workforce with Apprenticeships. Find out how to access funded training.

Training providers

Find out about Apprenticeship funding, frameworks, certification and verifying your apprentice’s training.

Individuals

Kick-start your sport and active leisure career with an Apprenticeship. Find out more about the different types of Apprenticeships available.

Frameworks

Ensure your Apprenticeship programmes meet the needs of employers with SkillsActive’s frameworks.

Updates

Find out about Apprenticeship framework updates and other news relevant to Apprenticeships.

Key facts

Read our frequently asked questions to learn the facts about what an Apprenticeship entails.

The National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure, in partnership with Sheffield College’s Enterprise Gateway and the Sports Marketing Network, hosted a complimentary workshop on why community sports clubs need to become more visible, vibrant and viable, functioning as a social enterprise.

The workshop was attended by some 30 sports clubs and marked the first stages of a potential national programme to assist community sports clubs in becoming more self sustaining. The ‘Club to Enterprise’ programme, created by the Skills Academy and key partners, is in line with the Government's Big Society agenda and is inspired by the Olympic legacy of increasing sports’ participation and of having a world class infrastructure in which to support community sport.

Following reductions in support from the Government and other bodies, community sports organisations will be without many key revenue streams which have previously supported their activities. The Skills Academy have already identified this as a massive concern and are worried about the future opportunities for playing sport in the community, should clubs begin to decline or even disappear.

"We need to enable clubs to become less dependent on the grant culture of being given money to do projects, as once the money has gone, they have no means of effectively operating." stated Yuri Matischen, Regional Chairman of the Skills Academy.

Key Speaker Svend Elkjaer highlighted a number of key business-like principles in order to help community sports clubs become more outward looking. As Managing Director of the Sports Marketing Network and an accredited Skills Academy training provider, Svend listed several case studies of how failing clubs and organisations had successfully transformed into their own social enterprises by adopting these methods and completing a journey of change.

He said:

“A sports club for the community is critical in terms of how people perceive the club, as opposed to a sports club in a community, which is there purely for its members only,"

With many clubs eager to start the journey, Richard Lambert, the Skills Academy’s Director for the region, confirmed the importance of the funding required for the costs of training and business advice to the clubs, as without it, most community sports clubs will find it hard to invest in these areas by themselves.

So, if your club in the Yorkshire or Humber region wants to learn more about the opportunities available and how the Skills Academy can help your club through the vital transition from a ‘Club to an Enterprise’, then please contact the Skills Academy regional team on 0114 2922368, referencing this article.

Downloads - Speakers' presentations from the event:

National Skills Academy June 2011 - Sheffield College

Regional Chairman_Presentation June 2011

Sheffield College_Club to Enterprise The Process

Sports Marketing Network_presentation_11_June

The Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund is working with partners to increase employment of disabled fitness professionals and boost disabled sport and physical activity participation.

National research commissioned by Central YMCA found that almost one in three people wouldn’t hire a personal trainer with a noticeable physical disability. Furthermore, Aspire, a national charity supporting people with spinal cord injuries, found that non-wheelchair users were more than three times as likely to be invited to interview for job vacancies than wheelchair users.

To help tackle these issues, Aspire has teamed up with YMCAfit on the groundbreaking Instructability project. Supported by a 75% subsidy from the Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund, which is managed by the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure, the Instructability project provides disabled people with Level 2 fitness instructor training.

Read more

The Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund has helped expand a London football education programme and offered more than 20 disadvantaged young people a springboard into work or further education.

Street League delivers football and education programmes to 16 - 25 year old NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) groups, offenders and substance users.

The Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund has provided a 75% subsidy for four academies to be staged across London. Managed by the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure, the Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund provides Londoners with up to 75% off the cost of training in exchange for them volunteering in their local community.

Read more

The Game On: Future Jobs Fund programme has now closed after helping get nearly 5,000 young unemployed people back into work.

The programme was lead by the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure (the Academy) on behalf of the Department of Work and Pensions, and was supported by 175 employer partners nationwide.

The Game On: Future Jobs Fund provided training and six months' employment to 18-24 year olds who had been out of work for six months and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. Bid One created 2,250 jobs and was completed in May 2010; Bid Two created 2,700 new jobs after the Government reduced the allocation by 300. More than 80 percent of employers involved in the Game On: Future Jobs Fund programme were small to medium sized businesses.

Academy chief executive Florence Orban says: "Undoubtedly those who secured jobs through the programme benefitted from it; gaining six months of real work experience and the necessary training, motivation and confidence to help them secure sustainable employment in our sector."

Employers have also benefitted from the 5,000 new jobs created, and the wages and relevant training the programme provided for their new recruits.

"Thanks to the Game On: Future Jobs Fund, more than 5,000 young people have been given the chance to prove themselves in their dream job. Many employees have proven such an asset to their employers, that they have been retained past the end of their placement.

"Our programme has helped expand businesses, boost sport and leisure participation rates in local communities and, ultimately, brought the Government considerable long term savings on unemployment benefits. I'm very proud of what we and our employer partners have achieved."

Florence says that given the popularity of the programme, matching demand to supply was always going to be a challenge: "We regret there will be some young people disappointed at not being able to take up the jobs they were recruited for."

The Academy is committed to supporting employers until the last Future Jobs Fund employees finish their placements in September.

"Even after this fantastic programme comes to an end, we will continue to help young people kick start their careers by working with employers to coordinate high quality Apprenticeship training," Florence says.

"We also hope to continue supporting unemployed people by working with final bidders on the Government's new single Work Programme. With our demonstrated success securing sustainable roles for employees on our Future Jobs Fund, our strong relationships with small and medium sized businesses across the country, and our network of quality training providers, we are well placed to help private and voluntary sector providers find people sustainable work."

Read about some of the individuals and businesses that have benefitted from the Game On: Future Jobs Fund scheme on the Academy's Case Studies.

Florence Orban, CEO of the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure responds to recent announcement on the Future Jobs Fund.

"There has been recent press coverage around the future of the Future Jobs Fund programme stating that the new coalition government is scrapping the programme. One news piece that was published by BBC online last week also stated that £290 million has been allocated to the Future Jobs Fund scheme.

Please be aware that the National Skills Academy: Game On Jobs, operates as part of this £290 million and we will be progressing with the project as planned. We will advise should this situation change.

All jobs advertised on this website, and the many more jobs that will be added over coming months, will continue to be funded for the full six month period, meaning unemployed young people can continue to access work experience, training and employment opportunities that were previously unavailable to them."

Posted by Hellen, 11:00am Mon 21 Jun 2010

Game On has now got it's very own Facebook page, where we will not only be posting career advice, places to find jobs, photos from our events and other Future Jobs Fund news but also be running several amazing competition.

Make sure you join up today by visiting Game On:Future Jobs Fund on Facebook to get the latest from Game On.

Posted by Hellen, 6:22pm Wed 4 Aug 2010