Young people are amongst those to be hardest hit by the recession.  Fears of a ‘lost generation’ have led to calls to explore solutions to help young people through these difficult times and reduce the proportion not in education, employment or training.

Apprenticeships have long been hailed as a key solution in ensuring the work readiness of young people and remain a key part of the government’s strategy to increase the skills and competitiveness of the UK economy.  It is therefore a cause for concern that nationally the number of young people starting apprenticeships has dropped over the past year.

The fall indicates substantial challenges ahead, especially given new government targets which outline that around 1 in 5 of all 16-18 year olds should be participating in apprenticeship programmes by 2020.

If young people are to be engaged in apprenticeships across a range of industries, we must address the fundamental barriers that prevent participation.  Recent research undertaken by SkillsActive reveals that although employer engagement is a key barrier to take up, there is a range of supporting issues that must also be addressed if the problem is to be resolved.

For the active leisure and learning sector to be successful in achieving apprenticeship targets we must ensure greater employer and provider engagement but also raise the profile of the sector and the apprenticeship pathway as a potential route for young people.  Intervention is required to clearly communicate the apprenticeship offer to ensure that all key parties have access to the right information so that they can make informed decisions (i.e. young people, their parents/guardians, advisors, employers and providers)

We must ensure fair access to information, advice and guidance about apprenticeships and careers in sectors outside of the traditional mainstream options.  In particular, we must improve knowledge of the active leisure and sector, ensuring that those offering advice have the skills and confidence to deliver advice on the sector and/or have access to experts that can give more tailored advice. Remaining aware of the resource restrictions of IAG, we need to explore measures to support the delivery of impartial and quality advice for all key parties and not just young people.

Finally, we must encourage greater employer engagement by addressing the key concerns of the sector (e.g. candidate suitability, perceived burden and risk and financial issues).

A full copy of the research report and evaluation report for a South West engagement model can be found on the SkillsActive website.

SkillsActive are working closely with employers and training providers to increase the availability and take up of apprenticeships, but we are always interested in hearing your views and ideas on what can be done increase participation.

Recent research from Sport England and the CCPR certainly seem to suggest that is the case.

Volunteers are at the heart of most sports clubs

Sport England recently reported on their quarterly results for their Active People Survey, which provides the largest  survey of sport and active recreation undertaken in Europe. While the headline results showed promise, with 6,822,000 people (16 and over) now playing sport three times a week and regular participation holding firm since December 2008, as well as satisfaction with local sports provision increasing, there were some worrying trends including a decrease in volunteering.

Could it be that volunteering, along with competitive participation and membership, has suffered from the current economic environment?

With less disposable income it seems that participation in sporting activities, whether as a competitor or volunteer, is one of the things that suffers. A recent Times article, based on research by the CCPR, suggested that the recession could mean the final whistle for 6,000 community sports clubs due to falling membership.

The CCPR research noted that “volunteering is also being affected by the economic downturn, with more than a fifth of clubs saying that the circumstances have had a negative or very negative impact on attracting and retaining volunteers “.

Within our sector, volunteers play a crucial role in delivering activities across sport and active leisure, with volunteer hours equivalent to over 50,000 full time roles. These roles  can range from the obvious ones such as coaches and officials to many more roles behind the scenes such as those who maintain equipment or look after the finances.  One of the key barriers to volunteering, particularly in the front-line roles, is often the cost of training. With both clubs and volunteers currently suffering from a lack of funds this obviously impacts upon maintaining both the number of volunteers and their skills.

SkillsActive often plays a part in directing funding into the sector, and support a number of bursaries and projects which help those in the sector in funding their development. Our London and South West coaching bursaries were a huge success and there are a number of bursaries to coaches still available in some regions. In the East of England  the East-Links: Leading the Field programme provides opportunities in fitness and officiating as well as targeting coaches. Meanwhile in playwork, there is funding available for playworkers to undertake level 3 qualifications, allowing advancement of skills for those in or looking to join the sector.

For more information on volunteering, whether in sport or other areas, Volunteering England have a whole host of information on their website with a large section dedicated to sport. 

If you’ve seen the impact of the recession on volunteering, share your views below.