Huge opportunities announced for apprenticeships in the Chancellors Summer Statement

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has made employment a focus of his Summer Statement with a range of measures in the government ‘plan for jobs’, including apprenticeships.

He said:

“For the next six months, we are going to pay employers to create new apprenticeships. We will pay businesses to hire young apprentices with a new payment of £2,000 per apprentice and we will introduce a brand new bonus for businesses to hire apprentices aged 25 and over with a payment of £1,500.”

This scheme runs from 1st August 2020 to 31st January 2021. With 700,000 people leaving education this year, the Institute of Swimming believes apprenticeships can prove to be a vital part of the leisure sectors recovery plan. Mr Sunak said that apprenticeships have a proven record with 91% of apprentices staying in work or continuing with further training.

Colin Huffen, Head of Education at CIMSPA, said:

“This provides the sector’s employers with a fantastic opportunity to address potential skills shortages, especially through programmes such as the Leisure Team Member Apprenticeship. Apprentices going through this scheme will be trained as a lifeguard, swimming teacher and gym instructor, along with essential first aid training; making them a well-rounded and valuable team member.

The commercial value of this apprenticeship training is over £5,000, which is delivered at no cost to the employer and the additional Government incentive will provide employers with extra support to take on and develop young workers.”

The Institute of Swimming is part of a consortium of industry-leading partners which includes Creative Sport & Leisure, Future Fit Training and the RLSS UK. The group have come together to deliver the CIMSPA Leisure Team Member Apprenticeship standard and ensure quality education is provided throughout.

Rebecca Cox, Managing Director of the Institute of Swimming said:

“Having team members that work confidently across all areas of the leisure facility allows operators to make the most of their workforce and react quickly to changes in customer demand and business needs. As the sector reopens this flexibility, along with financial support, provides a win-win situation.”

David Kreyling, Chief Executive Officer at Creative Sport & Leisure said:

“Our consortium of industry-leading partners have come together to deliver the Leisure Team Member Apprenticeship and ensure quality education is delivered throughout.

This CIMSPA Apprenticeship standard has been created to complement the skills that employers need and have asked for and is a fully funded and flexible way to train your workforce that can complement how and when leisure gets back.

All the training included in the Apprenticeship can commence online, enabling you to take advantage of the government support and start training new and existing staff between now and January 2021.”

If you would like to learn more about the Leisure Team Member Apprenticeship you can head to CreativeSportandLeisure.co.uk.

You can also contact the Creative Sport & Leisure Team at enquiries@creativesportleisure.co.uk.