SkillsActive

12/4/12

The Spring issue of SkillsActive’s flagship publication, ActiveInsight, is out now!

Highlights include:

• Nancy Ovens Bursary funds learning outside the box
• Q&A with Lauren Taylor, AASE Apprentice and BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2011
• CITOs’ 2012 Best Park Apprentice, Tom Wilson-Croome
• Playwork qualifications offer goes live
• New match funding opportunity to activate the inactive
• Take the lead with Apprenticeships
• Surge in qualified sports coaches in Yorkshire and Humber

Download ActiveInsight>

27/3/12

SkillsActive launched its career change support programme this month with an Employment and Training Fair at Surrey Sport Park, providing ex Armed Services members with direct access to sport and active leisure employers and training providers.

SkillsActive, the sector skills council for sport and active leisure, developed the Change Gear programme to offer career transition support to those leaving the Armed Services and veterans - ensuring they are empowered to make informed decisions about the opportunities available to them in the sport, fitness, outdoors, playwork, health & beauty and caravans industries.

Ex Armed Services members and Future Jobs Funds participants attended the event on 8 March to find out more about the range of careers on offer in the sport and leisure sector, and what skills, qualifications and training they needed to achieve their ideal role.

Leading training providers and employers such as Premier Sport, Fit for Sport, Curves, YMCAFit, Future Fit, Aspire, Babcock and G4S were on hand to offer attendees advice and guidance on training and employment opportunities. The event also featured seminars on all of our sub sectors as well as a range of showcase sports activities for people to try out.
 
A career in sport and active leisure is well suited to those who have led active and challenging lives. With over 200 different job roles available, our sector has massive potential for growth and career development and therefore offers a wealth of opportunity for those entering it.

Discover more about the Change Gear programme>

15/3/12

A disability sports volunteer has become the 10,000th Londoner to get qualified through the Mayor’s Sport’s Legacy Fund, which is managed by SkillsActive, helping ensure a grass roots sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Jaspaul Vilkhu, 30 (pictured), applied for the programme, which provides up to 75% off training for London sport and leisure volunteers, after learning about the opportunity through the UK’s leading disability sports coaching company, Disability Sports Coach, where he volunteers helping deliver sports to disabled people like himself.

Jaspaul used the 75% subsidy to complete his Boccia Leaders Award. The one day course enabled him to step up his responsibilities and assist other, more qualified coaches in delivering boccia coaching sessions to players of all ages and abilities.

Jaspaul says: “I’m really honoured to be the 10,000th Londoner to qualify through the Mayor’s Sport’s Legacy Fund. I’ve played boccia for three years but I enjoy being a leader and wanted to learn how to coach the sport.

“Thanks to the training, I now feel more confident going into different settings and coaching disabled participants for Disability Sports Coach and the other organisations I work for. I love seeing the smile on people’s faces when they get involved in sport. I’d like to keep gaining new skills and, eventually, find a paid job in sports.”

Managed by SkillsActive’s National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure, the Fund is part of the Mayor's plan ‘A sporting future for London’. The plan ensures Londoners benefit from a genuine grass roots sporting legacy from the 2012 Games, by encouraging more people to become active and strengthen community sport facilities.

Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund project manager Katie Couchman says: “The Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund has created a pathway into coaching and volunteering in amateur sport that would not otherwise be there. London communities will benefit from this programme for years to come.”

Disability Sports Coach founder Peter Ackred says: “Funding training for staff and volunteers can be a challenge, especially in the current financial climate.  Thanks to Mayor’s Legacy, we’ve upskilled 30 sports coaches, which is a huge boost for us and our clients.

“Each day, we deliver sport coaching services to people with disabilities all across London, some of whom we think will have a real chance of competing at future Paralympics. Through our work, the Fund is helping deliver a legacy at grassroots and elite sporting level. We’re really proud to be associated with this fantastic project.”

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “It is spot on that these extraordinary, selfless Londoners are being recognised for their contributions through volunteering in our capital.  The commitment to helping those most in need should be an example to us all.  Being able to recognise the 10,000th person to qualify through the Mayor’s Sport’s Legacy Fund is a wonderful milestone.  Congraulations to all who grabbed this unique opportunity for funded training and are playing their part in the Games Legacy.”

Londoners can receive up to 75% off the cost of nationally recognised qualifications in areas such as coaching and officiating, community sport, volunteering, leisure and health, in exchange for volunteering hours.

To find out more about the Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund and the range of discounted training on offer please visit www.skillsactive.com/mayorslegacy

29/2/12

SkillsActive, the sector skills council for sport and active leisure, is urging employers to take up a new opportunity to access match funding for training programmes. 

The programme, delivered by Sussex Downs College, in partnership with the FIA, SkillsActive, and the Sport and Fitness Employers Group (SAFE), will teach professionals to learn behavioural change techniques and how to motivate inactive audiences.

Many employers have already signed up to be part of the Joint Investment Programme (JIP) and with 1,300 fitness professionals set to benefit, more businesses have the opportunity to be part of the programme to up-skill the sector.

The programme offers employers (and those who are self-employed) match funding on the following courses:

•        L2 Award in Understanding Health Improvement

•        L3 Award in Adapting Exercise for Older Adults

•        L3 Award in Adapting Physical Activity for Older Adults

•        L2 Award in Community Activation

•        L3 Unit - Enabling Individuals to Change Behaviour and Improve Health and Well-being while working as a Health Trainer

•        L3 Unit - Customer Service in the Sport and Active Leisure Industry

•        L3 Award in Adapting Physical Activity for Ante and Post Natal Participants

•        L3 Award in Adapting Physical Activity for People with Disabilities

•        L4 Certificate for the management of lower back pain

David Stalker, CEO, FIA said: “Through this programme, employers will support us to up-skill over 1,300 fitness professionals to be able to introduce a currently inactive audience to physical activity, helping us achieve a more active nation”.

Suki Kalarai, SkillsActive’s CEO said: “This is a great opportunity for employers to ensure their staff are completely up-to-date with their training without breaking the bank. In these straitened economic times training budgets can often be the first thing to be cut so we’re especially pleased to be able help ensure those working in the fitness industry carry on learning.”

Liz Kemp, Project Delivery Coordinator at Sussex Downs College said: “Sussex Downs College is delighted to be working with the FIA and SkillsActive on such a challenging, high profile national project supporting leisure and fitness employers. We are looking forward to, not only managing the network of high quality training providers that will be delivering the qualifications, but also being part of the main steering group and monitoring the impact the project has on improving the physical activity of the nation.”

Employers and self-employed fitness professionals can register their interest by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

For more information on the programme visit www.skillsactive.com/jip

Follow the programme on Twitter #SkillsFit

Poole-based coach and SkillsActive and Nancy Ovens bursar, Rachel Light, has returned from a fact-finding mission to Australia to uncover the nation’s sporting secrets.

Rachel (29) – who is the head coach at the Young Athletes Training Academy (YATA) in Poole – spent three weeks in Australia during August, dividing her time between Canberra and Brisbane. In Canberra, Rachel visited the Australian Institute of Sport where she got a first-hand account of the institute’s high-tech facilities at the Testing Aquatic Centre. There, she also met with Swimming Australia where she gained an insight into the structure of swimming from grass roots to elite level.

“Everyone I met with was so helpful and completely open to sharing information and showing me the facilities,” Rachel said. “The AIS is an incredible resource and I can really understand how and why Australian swimmers have been advanced for so many years.

“They have a very successful structure in place and the support the athletes receive is second to none. I believe we lack structure for youth development in the UK and need to look to countries like Australia to learn the most effective ways of developing our athletes.”

Rachel also had meetings at the Queensland Academy of Sport – a breeding ground for over 600 athletes – Surfing Australia, Swimming Queensland and the Brisbane Broncos – Queensland’s most successful Rugby League team.

She said: “Swimming Queensland is the founder of some fantastic high performance training and support methods, which continue to be rolled out to the rest of the country. For example, when an athlete retires or is injured they are offered support from the Queensland Academy of Sport to help them emotionally adjust. The academy also works with local companies, colleges and universities to help put retired athletes on a path to full-time education or work.”  
Rachel believes that although sport in Australia has similar issues to the UK, including a lack of coaches, early drop out rates and obesity problems, the country has far better systems in place to manage them.

“Young athletes and their parents in Australia are provided with information on what to eat, how to recover and are given a lot more opportunities to attend swimming camps. The clubs are well run and do as much as they can to help the athletes succeed,” Rachel said.

Rachel’s unique training experience was supported by SkillsActive and the Nancy Ovens Trust. In May, Rachel beat out 57 applicants from around the country to receive one of six SkillsActive and Nancy Ovens bursaries, awarded annually to paid and un-paid individuals working within the sport, fitness, playwork, outdoors and caravan sectors. The bursaries are designed to help individuals improve their skills through an innovative training programme outside the scope of regular training.

In line with the bursary guidelines, Rachel planned her own training experience, making contact with a number of people and organisations in Australia before she left the UK. She is now putting together a comparison study from her time abroad which she hopes to share with other young coaches and sporting organisations.

A teenager navigated her way unaided through the French Pyrenees and achieved her Gold Duke of Edinburgh award thanks to funding from the Nancy Ovens bursary.

Emily Smith, 19, from Aylesham, completed her Duke of Edinburgh bronze and silver awards as a personal challenge while studying for an NVQ in Sport and Recreation at Army Cadets. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is a youth development programme that provides people aged 14 to 25 with the chance to develop skills for work and life.

To achieve the final gold award, Emily was required to complete planning, training for and completion of an adventurous journey. While most UK students complete the expedition in the UK, Emily and five friends decided to up the ante by completing theirs in France.

“We wanted to challenge ourselves even further by doing it in a foreign country,” she said.

Emily was aware of the Nancy Ovens Bursary, which provides individuals with up to £2000 to improve their skills through an innovative training programme outside the scope of regular training.

She successfully applied for £250 towards expedition costs and in July 2011 she travelled to the French Pyrenees after first completing a practice trek in the Lake District. Emily says the group, who were trailed by an assessor, trekked up to 19km a day for four days - relying on their map reading skills to navigate them through the notoriously difficult terrain. And if that wasn’t challenging enough – it rained non stop the whole time.

“We had heard it was really sunny that time of year but we packed for all weather so we were okay,” she says. “The only problem we encountered was when we went off track for a few hours on a particularly misty day.”

Emily, who is now a Duke of Edinburgh assessor, says she developed key life skills on the expedition, including planning, team building, navigation and courage.

“It was an amazing opportunity I’ll never forget. I now use lots of the skills in my role as a sports assistant at Dover College Independent School. The experience also helped me secure a place at Canterbury Christchurch University, where I plan to study physical education and sports exercise science, later this year.”

A leading shotgun coach is one step closer to his dream of coaching the GB team thanks to a rare training opportunity funded by the Nancy Ovens bursary.

Iain MacGregor, 58, from Perth in Scotland, is a shotgun coach with Sport Scotland and the only active ISSF A level qualified shotgun coach in Britain. Iain is responsible for training elite athletes - including some of those vying for spots at the Commonwealth Games - in Trap, Skeet and Double Trap shooting. However, he felt he could do with more experience with trap.

“I wanted to learn from the best, and that person is [former GB coach] Marcello Dradi from Italy,” Iain says. “He’s now responsible for training the national teams from India, Malaysia, Lebanon and Thailand.”

Fortunately, Iain heard about the Nancy Ovens Bursary. Sponsored by SkillsActive and named after the late Nancy Ovens, a former SPRITO board member, the bursary provides individuals with up to £2000 to improve their skills through an innovative training programme outside the scope of regular training.

Iain’s application for £600 was successful and in July 2011 he travelled to Bologna, Italy to shadow his idol for a week. There, he watched Marcello train Olympic shooters from the nations mentioned above, learned some of Marcello’s top trap secrets, and drafted a new trap training programme.

“As a coach, Marcello is much more aggressive than me and very focussed on technical details,” Iain says.
“He showed me how moving somebody’s feet a micron, correcting their posture, or bringing their gun back in their shoulder makes all the difference when you’re dealing with Olympic level shooters.”

Iain has no doubt the experience will benefit his learners – as well as his CV.

“Marcello gave me the confidence to work more closely with my students on smaller details that could affect the outcome of their trap shooting, as well as the importance of developing their focus so they can better predict the direction of their target.

“My learners are now benefitting from my time with Marcello and, if I keep improving my skills and helping elite athletes, hopefully I’ll be using his advice to train athletes as GB coach at the next Olympic Games!”

24/2/12

Nine out of 10 Modern Apprentices (MAs) in Scotland rate the quality of their training as good or very good, according to a recent study carried out by the SDS research team.

The same study into Scotland's Modern Apprentices also found that the MA programme is highly regarded by almost all of its participants with 98% describing their experiences positively and four out of five praising the support they get.

This large scale survey was carried out in November 2011 by SDS's Evaluation and Research team. The survey was designed to collect feedback from Modern Apprentices on their experiences of the MA programme and was completed by over 700 MAs who are currently in training.

Dr. Lynne Robson, from the Evaluation and Research team, explains: "This survey illustrates how our new research team can help colleagues within SDS. Working closely together, we can provide robust evidence on customer perceptions which can feed into SDS's desire for continuous improvement."

Katie Hutton, Head of National and Local Government Relationships comments: "This report is a key component of our continuous improvement process for National Training Programmes. It has given us valuable insight into the views and experiences of participants, and it is particularly encouraging, to all those involved in delivering this programme, that the vast majority of apprentices' views are so positive."

You can read the full report and analysis of results on the Skills Development Scotland website