17-Oct-2008

Region Chosen as Pilot Area for New Sports Skills Academy Launch

Published Date: 17 October 2008 Yorkshire Post Newspaper

By Greg Wright

Deputy Business Editor

A SKILLS academy is being launched in Yorkshire next month which aims to help train more than 25,000 people over the next five years who are looking for jobs in the sport and leisure sector.

Yorkshire and the Humber is one of three regions chosen to pilot the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure. The Yorkshire scheme, based at Sheffield United FC, will be supported by £100,000 funds from the Learning and Skills Council, while the national scheme has funding of £1.4m. The other pilots are in the North West and London. The scheme will be rolled out to every region in England by 2010.

The National Skills Academy Network has been established to improve productivity and tackle skills shortages across England.

There is expected to be a rapid growth in the leisure sector in the run-up to the London Olympics in 2012.

David Meli, business development director for Yorkshire and the Humber's National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure, said his role was to help employers attract quality staff.

Mr Meli has more than 15 years experience in public and private sector bodies. Before joining the National Skills Academy, he was commercial development manager at Leeds University.

He added: "The idea behind the National Skills Academy is that it will provide access to the best training and personal development in the sport and active leisure sector. Where there is a skills gap we will put in place a provider network."

He said Yorkshire had been chosen as one of the pilot areas because of the strength of its leisure sector.

He added: "There are about 48,500 paid employees in the sport and active leisure sector in Yorkshire; this figure will rise by 25 per cent by 2014.

"In Yorkshire and the Humber we need 88,000 new recruits in the sport and leisure sector by 2014. The two main drivers for this initiative are to ensure a long-term legacy from the 2012 games, and the Government target of having 50 per cent of the UK population active by 2020.

"We are working to engage directly with employers. At the moment, a lot of the training can be quite disparate. The posts in the sector range from coaches working in clubs, to receptionists in leisure centres to senior managers and every level in between. A lot of people are involved in sporting hobbies."

Training advice can be found at an online academy which will help people find out about the skills needed to enter the sector.

For employers, the website will provide information about training providers and advice on how to make the best use of staff training budgets.

For more details visit www.sport activensa.co.uk