Author: jbishop 
Posted on: February 7th, 2012
As an approved Apprenticeship provider, The Skills Partnership supports National Apprenticeship Week.
To celebrate, we’re giving one lucky person the chance to win an iPod touch.
Follow us on Twitter by clicking the link below by 11.59pm on 10th Feb and you could be the one…
Click here to follow us on Twitter
"National Apprenticeship Week – Prize!" posted in Employers, General, Learners | 
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Author: jbishop Posted on: September 30th, 2011If you are currently unemployed and are looking to develop your skills in order to secure work, TSP can help.
We are offering the key nationally recognised industry qualifications as fully and partially funded options for those who are out of work.
We are able to offer courses in the following subject areas:
Each course will also include an opportunity for those who have not already done so to register with the Apprenticeship service and to review current vacancies.
Course lengths vary but we will provide a mix of taught days (5-8) and on-line learning that will be scheduled over a period ranging from 1 month up to 4 months for higher level programmes.
Access to our interactive on-line academy is provided with each course and is a really great way of making significant progress from home ahead of course dates.
For more information about the course options that are available and your eligibility for them, please comment on this thread or contact us via the Contact page.
We look forward to hearing from you!
"Fitness Industry Skills for Unemployed" posted in Employers, General, Learners | There are 4 Comments »
Author: jbishop Posted on: September 21st, 2011TSP is currently working with a range of employers who are looking to provide Apprenticeship positions for stable staff. The main learning aim will be the provision of a level 2 Horse Care qualification which covers. These will be fantastic opportunities to join stables for people who have the passion to want work with horses and the desire to work in the industry.
As working apprentices they will be responsible for daily duties that will include grooming, checking the tack, tacking up (putting on the saddles and bridles) and un-tacking, general maintenance and proper care of horses including recording basic health information, rugging up and bedding down. Positions will also include all aspects of daily care, mucking out, cleaning stalls, turning in/out and watering. It is the perfect stepping stone into a professional racehorse business.
If you are looking to work with horses or are an employer looking for stable staff, contact us via the website today.
"Horse Care Trials" posted in Employers, General, Learners | There is 1 Comment »
Author: jbishop Posted on: September 21st, 2011TSP will be hosting a stand at the upcoming Surrey Youth Festival, taking place at Epsom Downs racecourse on Tuesday 27th September 2011.
If you are considering attending the festival, we invite you to drop by and visit our stand. We will have staff on hand who will be able to provide advice and guidance on the range of courses that TSP provides and the Apprenticeship vacancies that we are helping our employer partners to fill.
We will also be running an online quiz on the day, with the chance to win an ipod Touch.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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Author: jbishop Posted on: June 15th, 2011If you are considering recruiting into your business, have you thought about working with an Apprenticeship provider who could utilise the National Apprenticeship vacancy website to promote your vacancies? You could be taking advantage of reduced Apprenticeship minimum wage levels and tapping into a rich cohort of people who are looking for an opportunity to work and learn.
The benefits of recruiting via an approved training provider means that your staff will be trained in line with the most appropriate national standards for the job roles that they undertake. TSP offers apprenticeships in a wide range of sectors, talk to one of our advisers today by commenting on this post!
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Author: jbishop Posted on: June 15th, 2011TSP still has a number of spaces available on its next Gym Instructors course running over 5 days from 27th June at a central London venue. This course is fully funded for those who are currently unemployed and provides the industry and Register of Exercise Professionals recognised qualification. If you are interested in applying for this opportunity please comment on this post and we will contact you to run through funding eligibility and the requirements of the course.
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Author: jbishop Posted on: May 30th, 2011The Guildford 100 in 100 campaign is stimulating a great number of new opportunities for Apprenticeship placements within a wide range of organisations, but where can this type of learning at work take your career?
Nikki Hinton from Guildford has completed both an Apprenticeship and Advanced Apprenticeship and is quick to point out the way in which her these programmes have helped to shape her career.
“In order to be able to work in the gym environment I knew that there were certain industry recognised qualifications that I would need to achieve. At first I didn’t think that the opportunity would be open to me as I had left school with good grades across a range of subjects. Having discussed this with a training provider, I found out that the Apprenticeship course would provide me with the qualifications that employers in the leisure industry were looking for and would also give me that valuable element of experience.”
Nikki undertook her first Apprenticeship whilst working in a leisure centre and having demonstrated her commitment, she was soon looking for her next step. At this stage, she was rewarded with an increased level of responsibility and Nikki chose to work through the Leisure Management course. “I was new to management positions and wanted to broaden out my range of skills. To begin with I didn’t even realise that I would be able to move on from a first qualification and through into more advanced learning. Having spent some time in a management position I was keen to work with other people who were starting out and to share the experience that I had with them and it was at that point that an opportunity came up with the training company that had trained me.”
Fast forward to today and Nikki is working as an NVQ tutor with The Skills Partnership, “I hadn’t realised that my professional qualifications would have a value outside the industry itself. I was used to working one on one with clients and tutoring and coaching seemed to be a natural progression for me. Of course my learning didn’t end with my Apprenticeships, I continued to work and learn with the organisation picking up my assessor and teaching qualifications. I did find it tricky in the early stages, there is a lot of terminology to get used to, but luckily a lot of the transferable skills that I picked up during my apprenticeships really helped me out, such as my communication and numeracy qualifications.”
“It’s been a rewarding challenge to work with both younger and older learners across a range of courses. Some of the highlights have been the feedback you get from people who have found out what new doors their Apprenticeship course has opened up for them. From those who have been promoted through to personal trainers who wouldn’t have been able to start up their businesses without the course. We’ve also had learners who have moved through into Higher Education and have been able to use their advanced Apprenticeship to get into their first choice universities and to shorten their study time there.”
To find out more about Apprenticeship opportunities with The Skills Partnership, visit our website www.skillspartnership.co.uk or call us on the contact number found on our advertisement within this section.
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Author: jbishop Posted on: May 30th, 2011Finding a way to gain the skills needed for jobs in the leisure industry can be tricky but Apprenticeships provide a bridge into particular roles and are a way to earn while you learn. The Skills Partnership, a centre of excellence for Exercise and Fitness with success rates well above national benchmarks, provides support for businesses of any size with work-based learning for members of their existing staff and to recruit and train new Apprentices.
Hayley Bollons is just 20 years old and is currently completing her Advanced Apprenticeship level 3 in Teaching Physical Activity and Exercise (Personal Training) with The Skills Partnership, having previously completed her level 2 NVQ whilst working at the Guildford Spirit Health Club.
As Hayley explains, “I joined the Spirit team at the Holiday Inn, Guildford in November 2008 as a Lifestyle Consultant and I started my first work-based course to achieve a full NVQ at level 2. Then I started my advanced apprenticeship at level 3 last year with The Skills Partnership because I knew that I wanted to progress on and work toward my full level 3 Apprenticeship to become a Personal Trainer.”
“This is all I’ve ever wanted to do, work in the Sports industry. I didn’t want to go on to Uni because I’m not majorly academic, if you just sit me down with a book I don’t get motivated, I’m much better with practical learning rather than constant writing which is why I think the NVQ worked for me. Of course there are written elements in the Apprenticeship but they are based on practical work experiences that you’ve had.”
With her advanced course at work underway Hayley can now do more 1-2-1 personal training work with clients, and as she points out, “I can now earn extra money for myself and for the company. It’s enhanced my knowledge, I now teach ‘Circuits’ and ‘Abs’ and lots of other classes too.”
Hayley is keen to point out how straight forward she found working and learning, “Learning at work has been perfect for me. My course was a mix of some off site training sessions and then on top of that I had meetings at work with my personal tutors. My tutors have been really good, you get to know them and they support you through the course.”
Hayley is clearly a very motivated individual and is passionate about her choice of industry and the benefits that being able to join an Apprenticeship programme have delivered for her. She confirms that being able to develop her skills on the job has opened up further opportunities at work, “I got employee of the year for 2010 and I also got promoted to Deputy Club manager this year.”
Ross Cowie, Spirit’s Training Manger for Health and Fitness in the UK and Ireland is very clear about his support for Apprenticeships and is pleased with how the programmes that have been developed for Spirit are working. “We are able to up skill our teams with nationally recognised qualifications. Learning and support takes place in the workplace and is therefore much easier for learners to access. I would certainly encourage other employers to get involved”.
Hayley agrees, “I’d say that an Apprenticeship is a great opportunity because it not only increases your knowledge but you have that practical real life work experience and when you’re going for promotions and future jobs it’s the experience that counts.”
“Now that I’ve moved into a management role, I will continue to learn while I’m working, I’d like to look at Leisure Management qualifications now”.
Hayley has been given a wonderful opportunity with the backing of her employer, who is clearly fully supportive of the Apprenticeship model and the support of The Skills Partnership. “I would certainly recommend the Apprenticeship to any young person looking to get into a particular industry.”
Other employers should take note, Hayley is representative of a number of young people from age 16 and upwards that are looking to channel their enthusiasm into learning on the job and for a relatively modest outlay you could be developing these talented people.
The Skills Partnership is a National Apprenticeship Service approved work-based training provider that works with employers and individuals that are looking to undertake Apprenticeship courses. The Skills Partnership can advise employers and individual applicants on courses and funding available to them across a wide range of industries including; Health and Fitness, Business and Customer Support Services, Creative, Retail, Hospitality and Industrial.
Mike Bourke CEO of The Skills Partnership explains, “Our approach is to work closely with our employer clients in order to understand what their business priorities are particularly in terms of the training and recruitment requirements that they need in order to hit their bottom line business objectives. The range of Apprenticeship frameworks have proved themselves to be flexible enough to meet a wide range of skills gaps identified by our clients.”
James Bishop, Business Development Director adds, “We are able to demonstrate to the employers that we work with that Apprenticeship provision is able to provide tangible results for businesses, such as; reductions in staff turnover; reductions in unplanned absence and measurable improvements in client customer satisfaction. We also see through analysis of staff engagement surveys before and after training activity that employees have improved motivation and productivity. Providing the Apprenticeship opportunity also enables businesses to access government funding to support training budgets and this is invaluable in what are certainly challenging economic times.”
"Find the Skills for a Career in Fitness" posted in Learners | There are 2 Comments »
Author: jbishop Posted on: April 8th, 2011TSP’s Ofsted report has now been published and the company is pleased to announce that it has acheived ‘Grade 2 – Good’ right across its entire range of provision. The full report is available to download and view from the Ofsted website.
TSP received some fantastic feedback from its learners and employers and notably some of its provision, in particular its Creative courses were described as ‘inspirational’.
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Author: jbishop Posted on: January 19th, 2011The Skills Partnership has introduced a dedicated Business Improvement Techniques manager who can work with your business to identify training methods that will help your business to become more efficient.
We also provide nationally recognised Business Improvement Techniques qualifications that include a diverse range of units that can be tailored to your business needs including:
In the current economic climate business efficiency is critical. Let us help you to maximise your business potential.
Contact us to discuss your requirements and the option of a consultation with our experienced Business Improvement Techniques manager.
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