TRAINING World’s first museum MOOC is launched


Finding wellbeing in the latest Budget


IAN TAYLOR is chief executive at SkillsActive


The University of Leicester has unveiled plans for what will be the world’s first Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) related to museum studies. Working in part-


E


conomic wellbeing is obviously important to millions of peo- ple across the country. However, I am of the firm belief that our


physical wel lbeing is equal ly as important as our economic wellbeing. In the recent Budget announcement,


what really caught my eye was the new mental health strategy for young people and adults. At SkillsActive we welcome extra support to help young people with mental health problems get their lives back on track. Physical activity and access to sport is proven to help teenagers progress. I want to hard-wire fitness plans as part


of treatment therapies within back-to- work programmes. SkillsActive is working with the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions to achieve this objective, and is building partnerships with Work Programme pro- viders to really make a difference. We’re also proud to be involved in


delivering the strategy to widen access to physical activity and sport in colleges. Tis is in partnership with Sport England and AOC Sport as part of the Active Colleges project, ensuring staff have the right skills to engage young people in sport and physical activity. One of our objectives aſter the general election is to bring together employers from our industry with schools, colleges and the Department for Education so that more young people under 18 can access gyms and fitness centres. All of this means in the future we will


need more fitness and exercise apprentices, and apprentices with medical competence at Level 3 and 4 rather than Level 2. With the great ‘apprenticeship expan-


sion’ now on, the Conservatives have promised three million from 2015 to 2020, and Labour 80,000 extra starts for 18 year olds at Level 3 or higher. Yet, without employers none of these ambitions will be reached. SkillsActive will be working with our employers to meet the needs of our industry and the wellbeing of the nation.


16


nership with National Museums Liverpool, the MOOC – an online course aimed at unlim- ited participation and open access via the internet – will offer a six-week, two hours a week course exploring a range of topics about how the museum sector works and what its role is in wider society. “The MOOC is a new departure for the


The online course is open-access and runs for six weeks


school but something that we were very keen to do,” said Suzanne MacLeod, director and head of school at the University of Leicester. “Te ways people want to learn are changing and we wanted to understand more about that. Te MOOC has enabled us to experi- ment with new ways of delivering, teaching and research. It is something of an experiment so we are intrigued to see how people respond


to the MOOC and to get their feedback.” Te course will be delivered through the Future Learn platform and is aimed at anyone with an interest in museums; including prospec- tive students interested in further training in museum studies; museum volunteers; or museum practitioners. No prior knowl- edge or equipment is required.Interested parties can sign up for the course now, with the programme set to start on 1 June 2015. Details: http://lei.sr?a=e2E4s


Trainees to take charge of luxury spa


Sunderland College’s £29m new vocational campus is set to feature a luxury spa, which will be operated by a spa manager who will supervise students working towards the City & Guilds NVQ Level 3 in Spa Terapy. Te spa is one of many facilities


that will be open to the public at the 12,500sq m (134,549sq ſt) vocational campus – to accommodate 2,000 students when it opens in Q2 of 2016. The new spa, being built by


DaleSauna, will offer an overflow spa pool, sauna, salt steamroom, aroma- therapy room, rasul mud treatment room, experience showers, ice feature, reflex- ology walk and tiled heated loungers. “We have designed a spa that can not only


Te new campus will house a range of vocational courses


deliver the requirements of the NVQ Level 3 Spa Terapy curriculum, but also compares favourably to some of the finest hotel spas around,” said Gerard McCarthy, sales director at DaleSauna. Te spa will offer Caci treat- ments and a variety of therapies using products by Dermalogica. Architecture firm IBI Taylor Young is in charge of the campus’ design and


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


BAM Construction is building the campus – which is being funded by a number of sources, including the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), Sunderland City Council and College reserves. In addition to this ‘spa academy’, the new


campus will house vocational courses trans- ferred from the college’s Hylton Campus, including courses about hair and beauty, a bakery, travel agency, restaurant, manufactur- ing and engineering facility and a car repair service. Details: http://lei.sr?a=K5c5A


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2015


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24