Degree Apprenticeships Benefit the Employer and the Employees

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How Degree Apprenticeships benefit the Employer and the Employee:  Chris and Oxford United Community Trust’s Story

School and mainstream academic learning can be a narrow pathway at a very specific time, early in your life. If pure academic learning is not for you or you’re not ready to learn in your formative years, then you often miss out on the chance of qualifications that could at some point affect your career progression.   A degree apprenticeship is a new way for someone in work to improve their knowledge and qualifications, benefiting both the individual and the business they work for.

Chris Lowes, Head of Operations at Oxford United Community Trust, is one person in our network that is currently benefiting from a degree apprenticeship.

“I’m not really academic.  I struggled to learn at school and ended up leaving with no GCSE’s.  Having Dyslexia doesn’t help. I wouldn’t say it’s the root cause of everything but it meant I struggled with written work. After school I went straight into part time work with the football club as a coach on minimum wage. Over the years I’ve worked my way up through various positions at the Trust.”

Chris was recently appointed Head of Operations, atop job at Oxford Community Trust.  Despite his success at Oxford, Chris has always been concerned about his lack of formal qualifications.

Chris continues, “I always regretted not having more qualifications and as my career developed I regretted it even more because I know that I have the knowledge and potential to succeed.  I thought about doing night school, or day release many times, but the cost was too much and the time it takes out of your life put me off when trying to balance a full time job. However, a degree apprenticeship doesn’t have those constraints, so it’s an opportunity that I jumped at.”

Degree apprenticeships have less effect on a student’s life, as they combine working with studying part-time at a university. Apprentices are employed throughout the programme and spend part of their time at university and the rest with their employer. This can be on a day-to-day basis or in blocks of time, depending on the programme and requirements of the employer.  More importantly a degree apprenticeship also removes the cost barrier, with only 5% contribution towards costs for non-levy paying organisations and no cost for levy paying organisations.

The course Chris is studying is the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship with the Open University. This degree provides apprentices with higher level management skills, core leadership competencies and behaviours. Thanks to his degree apprenticeship, Chris is now getting the opportunity to get the qualification he deserves and Oxford United Community Trust are benefiting from his wider skills, knowledge and expertise.

“I’ve always learned by doing. I’ve got basic understanding of what  I’m doing and why I’m doing it. However, the degree apprenticeship is broadening and deepening my knowledge and understanding.  The degree allowed me to understand the theory and learning at the same time you are doing the job is a great way to learn.”

 

National Obesity Awareness Week: PNE Walking Football participant loses 18 kilos in under two years

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As part of National Obesity Awareness Week, Walking Football with PNE participant Andy Laurie revealed how getting involved in the sport has helped him drop his weight from 108 kilos to 90 kilos.

Andy has been attending Walking Football sessions since February 2017 and has revealed how beneficial it has been to him and how it has contributed to him losing 18 kilos in under two years.

He said: “I started walking football in February 2017 and I play two or three times a week. I’ve used it not only as playing the game but as weight loss. I thoroughly enjoy it and have continued to play to this day ever since.

“I’m currently 90 kilos so to lose 18 kilos in just under two years is quite good. I’m feeling a lot healthier. I can walk up and down stairs now without getting out of breath and I really enjoy it.”

Andy uses his belt as an indication of the amount of weight he has lost and drills new holes into it as he continues to shed the pounds through regular exercise.

As well as the physical side of losing weight, it also requires a lot of mental strength and Andy believes that being part of group who support each other through the good times and the bad times is key.

“It’s very much mental,” said Andy. “What we have here in the group is very much two parts to the football. One is the actual football and the other is the banter and camaraderie we have as a group. We all support one another.

“If someone is feeling a bit down, doesn’t want to turn up, we still make them turn up and they still enjoy it. Even when some of us get injured, they’re still turning up on a Friday or Wednesday or Monday for a coffee.

“So that’s really good for what the Community Trust here and in other places have done to get us as a group. Because we all support one another, we turn up more often, we are doing more physical exercise and it’s better all round.

“What would be nice to know but it’s impossible to know would be what as a group, what our weight total was two years ago and what it is today. Between the whole group we would have lost a lot of weight because everyone has lost weight.”

Andy’s weight loss journey had originally begun in the summer of the pervious year when he decided that it was time for him to change his lifestyle and begin to try and shed the pounds.

“My weight loss started in July 2016. I was 108 kilos and I thought this is getting stupid, too fat whatever so I started cycling, started walking all that sort of stuff,” continued Andy.

“What I did when I started walking was, I did a distance and I was walking for an hour and 15 minutes. Each day I tried to cut that time down by a minute so slowly you get faster and faster and I was doing whatever mileage it was in an hour and that’s when I knew I was up to proper speed.”

The Preston North End fan has not just changed the amount of physical activity he undertakes and while he hasn’t changed his diet, he has reduced his alcohol consumption.

Andy admitted: “I’ve not actually changed what I eat, I still like the odd treat, however what I have done is cut down the amount of alcohol I drink at home.

“I still go to the pub twice a week and have a beer and occasionally I’ll have a drink at home but not very often so really diet hasn’t changed that much its purely down to exercise.”

North End host weekly Walking Football sessions on a Tuesday from 6pm until 7pm and on a Friday from 11am until 1pm at the Preston North End Community Training Centre for men and women over the age of 50, regardless of ability.

The first steps in losing weight can be the toughest, but Andy believes that the Walking Football sessions provide the perfect opportunity for people to lose weight and he is keen to encourage more to do so and get involved.

He added: “Get into a group which is fun to be with. If exercise is fun, then you’re going to do it. Start off slowly, don’t overdo it and just work up.

“We get new members because they are usually overweight as I was, you come on, you play for two minutes and you’re falling around on the floor, you can’t get up, you can’t get your breath but slowly you get through that and then you don’t ache now after games.

“I thoroughly enjoy it. They are a great bunch. We have the odd fracas where someone kicks someone, and all that kind of stuff. We have a go at the referees here because of their biased refereeing usually against my team but we all have a good laugh and that’s what life is about at the end of the day.

“So, I would say to anyone, start it gently and enjoy it but just carry one. Persevere and just carry on doing it.”

Blackpool FC Community Trust Job Vacancies

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Blackpool FC Community Trust are recruiting in the following positions…

 

Job Vacancy: Education Officer

Job Description – Education Officer

Due to the expansion of our Education and Employability programmes, Blackpool FC Community Trust are looking for a new member of staff to join our vibrant and forward-thinking organisation, which helps develop a range of opportunities for the people of Blackpool and the Fylde Coast to improve their lifestyles, education and health.

The Community Trust is an independent registered charity that is looking to add another member of staff to the very successful Education and Employability delivery team.

We are looking for an Education Officer who will deliver a high quality BTEC Sport programme and football coaching sessions as part of the Football Academy strand, aiming to inspire and motivate students, in accordance with the guidance and outcomes of the BTEC Sport Curriculum and funding providers expectations.

Please send your C.V and a covering letter to explain why you are suitable for this role to Selina Hayes by either of the following methods:

E-mail: [email protected]

Post: Selina Hayes, Head of Education, Blackpool FC Community Trust, Bloomfield Road, Seasiders Way, Blackpool, FY1 6JJ

Applications must be submitted no later than 5pm on Thursday 31st January 2019.

Interviews will take place week commencing 4th February 2019.

 

 

 

Job Vacancy: Physical Education Officer

Job Description – Physical Education Officer

Due to the expansion of our Premier League Primary Stars programme, Blackpool FC Community Trust are looking for a new member of staff to join our vibrant and forward thinking organisation, which helps develop a range of opportunities for the people of Blackpool and the Fylde Coast to improve their lifestyles, education and health.

The Community Trust is an independent registered charity that is looking to add another member of staff to the very successful Primary Stars delivery team.

We are looking for a Physical Education Officer who will support and develop local primary school staff in delivering high-quality PE lessons, aiming to inspire and motivate school staff, in accordance with the guidance and outcomes of the PE and Sport Premium funding.  The role will also include enthusing young people to take part in regular physical activity.

Please send your C.V and a covering letter to explain why you are suitable for this role to Chris Debar by either of the following methods:

E-mail: [email protected]

Post: Chris Debar, Senior Physical Education Officer, Blackpool FC Community Trust, Bloomfield Road, Seasiders Way, Blackpool, FY1 6JJ

Applications must be submitted no later than 5pm on Friday 8th February 2019.

Successful candidates will be informed of their invitation to interview on Thursday 14thFebruary 2019, with interviews taking place week commencing 25th February 2019. 

 

 

 

Job Vacancy: Pastoral and Learning Mentor

Job Description – Pastoral and Learning Mentor

Due to the expansion of our Education and Employability programmes, Blackpool FC Community Trust are looking for a new member of staff to join our vibrant and forward-thinking organisation, which helps develop a range of opportunities for the people of Blackpool and the Fylde Coast to improve their lifestyles, education and health.

The Community Trust is an independent registered charity that is looking to add another member of staff to the very successful Education and Employability delivery team.

We are looking for a Pastoral and Learning Mentor who will provide support to students across our education and employability programmes, aiming to inspire and motivate students academically, emotionally and socially.

Please send your C.V and a covering letter to explain why you are suitable for this role to Selina Hayes by either of the following methods:

E-mail: [email protected]

Post: Selina Hayes, Head of Education, Blackpool FC Community Trust, Bloomfield Road, Seasiders Way, Blackpool, FY1 6JJ

Applications must be submitted no later than 5pm on Thursday 31st January 2019.

Interviews will take place week commencing 4th February 2019.  

Blackpool FC Community Trust has many projects and are always looking for reliable, good quality Level 1/Level 2 coaches to get involved in coaching on a casual basis.

If you think you have what it takes to join the Blackpool FC Community Trust team, please send your CV, attached to a covering letter to [email protected], and they will contact you if any vacancies become available.

NHS Chief hails scheme to help football fans slim down

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NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens has backed a scheme that lets overweight football fans train at their club’s stadium, encouraging them to get fit and live a healthier, more active life.

Five of the English Football League (EFL) Trust’s network of community organisations are participating in the Scottish Professional Football League Trust’s licensed Football Fans in Training (FFIT) programme where overweight men and women are coached for 12 weeks at their team’s home ground.

The EFL Trust aspires to see the programme spread to more communities in England by establishing new partnerships that can increase the impact of the scheme.

Clubs put on a three-month programme of exercise and sports and also give advice on healthy eating. One programme at Swindon FC saw 30 men lose more than 40 stone in weight.

The scheme was developed and is operated by the Scottish Premier Football League Trust in 2010 north of the border.

One three-month programme at Swindon FC saw 30 men lose more than 40 stone in weight.

Simon Stevens said that rolling out the scheme in England will help cut type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related problems including heart disease and several types of cancer, relieving pressure on the NHS.

And as the NHS prepares to publish a long term plan that will have a renewed focus on prevention, he said commissioners should consider enabling GPs to refer supporters to the scheme as part of the growing move toward ‘social prescribing’.

Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, said: “Obesity is a public health emergency and tackling it needs to be a team effort.

“Football clubs are the centre of communities across England and working with them to encourage fans to get fit is a great idea that can produce real results.

“As the NHS prepares to publish a long term plan that will include a renewed focus on prevention, commissioners should consider whether schemes like this can help patients live fitter, healthier lives – and take pressure off on NHS services.”

In England the FFIT is currently available at Swindon Town, Wycombe Wanderers, Blackpool, Middlesbrough and Charlton Athletic.

Local NHS services also work with Widnes Vikings rugby team, helping children exercise regularly through coaching by the rugby players.

Mike Evans, Director of Operations at EFL Trust said: “The EFL Trust is committed to improving the lives of people within EFL communities across country and Football Fans in Training is proven to be a great way to get people to think about sustainable changes to improve their lives. We are proud of the work in our EFL Clubs in this area so far and hope to do more to address this important challenge going forward.”

The FFIT scheme is the only evidence-based programme of its kind.

Experts at the University of Glasgow, who studied the programme’s Scottish roll-out, said the men lost more than nine times as much weight as those who had not done the programme.

Men who followed FFIT in Scotland saw improvements to their health and wellbeing, with two in five maintaining a weight loss of at least 5% of their original body weight a year later.

The EFL Trust supports, advises and resources the network of community organisations associated with the 72 EFL Clubs.