6 March 2009: A consortium of Bradford businesses has been appointed the Centre of Excellence in Leadership and Management plus the region’s Development Centre in Community Sports Enterprise. Awarded by the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure, the Centre of Excellence and Development Centre will train around 700 individuals in the Yorkshire and Humber region during its first year.
The Bradford Sports Consortium includes: Bradford College, University of Bradford School of Management, Central Sports Management & Training, Bradford Bulls, City of Bradford MDC, Bradford Community Sports Network and Sports Marketing Network.
The Centre of Excellence will deliver training and qualifications in management and leadership for organisations in sport and active leisure—whether public, private or voluntary. All levels of staff from supervisors to CEO’s will be able to access a mix of funded, accredited, non accredited and bespoke training. The Development Centre will provide training to club members and volunteers where skills are required in order to promote quality, growth and viability.
“Our sector has revealed a need for management and leadership training,” says Steven Downham-Clarke at Bradford College. “Only a small number of managers have received specific training for their rolese—in fact, there are relevant skills lacking in 69 per cent of existing managers. The Centre of Excellence will therefore have a significant impact in up-skilling managers as well as helping more staff progress into leadership roles.
“The Development Centre will be a vital resource for sports clubs by providing formal training to its volunteers who often receive little formal support within their roles. If we are to achieve the government’s ambition to get more people involved in sport, we must ensure volunteers who run clubs have the necessary skills to increase and sustain this growth.”
Andrew Roberts-Morris, Yorkshire and Humber’s Business Development Manager for the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure, says:
“Due to the large number of renowned partners, the Bradford Sports Consortium will be an invaluable resource for employers to access training of the highest quality across the region. This new move also means local businesses in sport and leisure will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of innovative programmes designed to meet the needs required by the sector.”