TRAiNiNG


Springboard trains 1,000th ambassador


GARETH EDWARDS is education director of The Springboard Charity and Springboard UK


New Solihull facility for Premier Training


Premier Training International (PTI) is to open its latest training venue at David Lloyd Leisure’s Solihull club in the West Midlands as part of a UK-wide expansion. Te new facility, which will


S


pringboard is lucky to have an army of motivated ambassadors from the hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors who are trained


and primed with the message about the exciting career opportunities available. Tis year, the Springboard Ambassador


Programme – a two-day specialist course designed to develop presentation skills, confidence and sector knowledge – reached its latest milestone as Assia Riccio-Smith – host manager at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons – became Springboard’s 1,000th ambassador. Ambassadors gain keys skills in the abil-


ity to present well to a variety of audiences, strong advice and guidance skills and an increased understanding of the industry. It also equips them to be internal ambassa- dors, encouraging the retention of staff. Te reason ambassadors are needed is


because Springboard can never fulfil all the requests it gets to visit schools and colleges across the UK. It provides a great resource to meet this demand and provides valuable CPD for our business partners. Employer benefits are that the programme drives home-grown talent to their doors making it a cost-effective recruitment tool. Ambassadors act as talent scouts, seeking


out those who demonstrate that they have the passion and enthusiasm for a career in hospitality. It raises the brand awareness and promotes them as an employer of choice. Last year Springboard ambassadors reached 10,207 potential recruits across the country offering home grown talent careers advice and guidance, CV building, inter- view skills and also offering quality work experience through INSPIRE. In 2012, Springboard ambassadors are


supporting the Inspiring their Futures Campaign, a campaign that looks for inspi- rational speakers to visit schools to talk about industry careers and encourage and promote young people to join this industry. For further information on ambassadors or to become an ambassador, contact Kerry Mabbley: kerrym@springboarduk.org.uk


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open in May, will complement the provider’s existing West Midlands site at Dudley and is among a number of new loca- tions due to open this year. In January, PTI revealed


plans to open five new venues by the summer to accommo- date the growing number of people who are turning to careers in health and fitness. PTI chief executive officer Debra Stuart said:


“Obviously this is a period of real expansion and progress for Premier, and our Solihull venue is the latest development in our plans.


Solihull will be the latest facility in Premier Training’s UK expansion “Te demand for health and fitness course


provision continues to increase by the day, and we are committed to meeting that.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=S3e8b


SkillsActive confirms new investment


SkillsActive has secured fund- ing to continue the delivery of skills solutions for the active leisure sector from 1 April. The sector skills council


has been appointed by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills in partnership with Lantra; Habia; People 1st; Improve; and GoSkills. SkillsActive secured fund-


ing for three of four national occupational standards proj- ects, such as the review of standards for leisure oper- ations and management to reflect current practice. It will review standards underpinning the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence frame- work, as well as working to fill gaps in standards for new professional Playwork areas. SkillsActive acting chief executive officer


Suki Kalirai said: “National occupational stan- dards, qualifications and Apprenticeships are


Te funding is to help SkillsActive in its work to deliver skills solutions


key products for developing a better skilled, better qualified workforce.” Elsewhere, SkillsActive has secured invest-


ment for Apprenticeships with a special focus on coaching in Wales and achieving excellence in sports performance in Scotland. Details: http://lei.sr?a=X3B4W


New disability training course for tourism firms


VisitEngland has teamed up with DisabledGo to launch a new online disability awareness course designed to help tourism firms deliver high quality service to disabled customers. Te course has been specifically tailored for those working within the tourism sector,


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


with businesses able to register up to five of the 1,000 free spaces made available. VisitEngland said the six-module course will


take up to two hours to complete and includes a look at the different types of disability. Details: http://lei.sr?a=H6z3C


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2012


image: robert kneschke/shutterstock.com


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