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Economic of sport in the NW |
Sport England welcomes extra funds for cycling |
SPORT ENGLAND SHOWS ITS SUPPORT FOR GLASSON RANGERS ARLFC |
Sport England provides boost for sport in Halton |
Sport England encourages Bolton youngsters to Tri Golf |
Olympic champions ride into town to open new cycling track |
HANDS UP FOR SPORTS VOLUNTEERING CONFRENCE |
SPORT ENGLAND NORTH WEST GIVE £250,000 FUNDING FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF CUMBRIA |
SPORT ENGLAND HELPS BURY GYMNASTICS CLUB RISE FROM THE ASHES |
NORTH WEST CELEBRATES REGION'S 2012 SPORTING LEGACY |
SPORT ENGLAND REVEALS SPORTS PARTICIPATION IS INCREASING WITH THE OVER 55S LEADING THE CHARGE |
SPORT CAN CHANGE LIVES SAY NACRO AND SPORT ENGLAND NW |
SPORT ENGLAND AWARD £195,000 TO CLITHEROE SPORT CENTRE |
'Back to Netball' - England Netball Project |
Twenty five North West sporting venues included in London 2012 training camp guide |
Greater Manchesters Volunteers Stand out from the Crowd |
Sporting project provides training and qualifications boost to Hyndburn youngsters |
Olympians make a splash at Aquatics Centre |
Streetgames festival of sport comes to NW |
Community Sports Network - Community Sports Project (STRIDE) |
New Rugby League Volunteering Opportunities coming to the North West!
Sport England has awarded the new University of Cumbria £250,000 to support the growth of training and skills in the sports sector. The university will use the funding for its successful ‘Get Qualified’ initiative and will also expand the scheme into Lancashire.
Stewart Kellett, Sport England North West Regional Director: ‘Sport England has a long standing commitment to increasing skills and qualifications in the fast growing sports sector. This is a timely announcement following the recent exciting news about the National Skills Academy. We want people in Cumbria and Lancashire, and across our region, to have the opportunity to get the right skills for a range of careers in sport in the coming years. It is an exciting time for the region as we look forward to 2012 as well as understanding more about the vital role played by sport in supporting healthier, happier and safer communities.’
The award enables the University of Cumbria to continue the ‘Get Qualified’ for a further two years. It will also target people already working in mainstream sport, and those involved in the outdoor sector – a growing sector in Cumbria in particular. Those working in sport in the area will be offered the chance to gain up-to-the minute skills, and recognised qualifications.
Get Qualified was launched in Cumbria in February 2007 with an aim to improve the qualifications and skills of professionals working in the outdoor sector. It enables individuals to apply to the University of Cumbria for financial support and, if eligible receive funding towards their course fees, usually at the rate of 60% of the course cost. Since its introduction, over 270 people in Cumbria have received grants to finance training which means people gaining new qualifications in: first aid; canoe coaching awards; trail cycling and mountain biking; mountain leadership; rock climbing; powerboat handling; line management skills; and caving.
The £250,000 investment from Sport England means that potentially 500 people across Lancashire will now also benefit from subsidised training.
Simon Waring, Centre Manager at Outward Bound, says: ‘As a significant employer in Cumbria that is expanding, Get Qualified has been a great help in ensuring our current staff are trained and qualified to high standards. The launch of a National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure will enable schemes like Get Qualified to be more accessible to employers in the sector, allowing them to gain financial support for training staff and to pull all skills training into one single and coherent place.’
Plans for the National Skills Academy
•The model of the Get Qualified project is seen as a preferred delivery mechanism for future developments on the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure.
•Pioneered by SkillsActive, the industry’s sector skills council, the academy will see a regional hub established at COMET (Centre for Outdoor Management, Education and Training) at the university’s campus in Penrith and is set to have a huge impact on training provision in the North West.
•Once up and running the academy will secure a future for Get Qualified and similar projects across England as well as Cumbria and Lancashire. Many accredited training providers in the region have already signed up and committed to transferring into the National Skills Academy model.
Jon Owen, at the School of Outdoor Studies, University of Cumbria, says: ‘The National Skills Academy has the potential to really unite employers and organisations within the sport and outdoor sectors to create initiatives that are ‘greater than the sum of the parts’. For example, Get Qualified has come about as a result of collaborative working between the County Sports Partnerships of both Cumbria and Lancashire and the University of Cumbria. As host of the North West hub, there is a superb opportunity for businesses in the sector to assist in the development of the academy in our region. Building the capacity of the workforce is paramount and projects like Get Qualified will help address the skills challenges across the North West and provide local employers with a skilled workforce.’
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Ends
Notes to the Editor:
SkillsActive
SkillsActive is licensed by government as the Sector Skills Council for Active Leisure and Learning. Charged by employers, SkillsActive leads the skills and productivity drive across the sport and recreation, health and fitness, outdoors, playwork and caravan industries – known as the active leisure and learning sector.
SkillsActive is dedicated to the needs of business and organisations by helping to improve their competitiveness and productivity, and aims to bring together employers, educators and government, and unite them with a common, employer-led agenda for action on skills.
National Skills Academy network
The National Skills Academy network is the new gold standard for industry training, aiming to improve productivity and tackle skills shortages across England.
Each National Skills Academy puts employers at the heart of skills training for their sector: they influence the curriculum to ensure it reflects employers’ needs; get involved in the Academy’s management; set standards; and influence strategic direction.
National Skills Academies aim to:
•deliver high quality training for a specific sector
•provide first-class teaching in a modern learning environment
•be centres of innovation and creativity in skills development for their sector
•be flexible, sustaining the closest possible relationships with employers of all sizes, and
•build specialist networks with a range of other learning providers, so that new thinking, new methods and higher standards are shared to the benefit of learners and employers.
The National Skills Academy network was initiated by the Government to address the need for a world class workforce with better skills than ever before. It is managed by the Learning and Skills Council working in partnership with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, the Sector Skills Development Agency, the Skills for Business Network and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
The Skills for Business Network is made up of licensed Sector Skills Councils and their regulatory body, the Sector Skills Development Agency. This network is responsible for improving skills and productivity within the UK.
For more information see: www.nationalskillsacademy.co.uk
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