As part of the one year implementation plan of its Uniting the Movement strategy, Sport England has confirmed a plan to invest £5m of National Lottery money in a new and unique job retention and support package for sports and physical activity professionals.
The ReTrain to Retain programme will provide tools, training and services to enable sector professionals to return to work safely and with confidence, providing opportunities for participation to return to pre-pandemic levels.
ReTrain to Retain will be administered by CIMSPA (the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity) and a consortium of partners including UK Coaching and EMD UK. It will be designed to support up to 25,000 sports and fitness coaches, who have had to find work outside the sector during the coronavirus pandemic and will prioritise those working in areas of economic deprivation or supporting under-represented groups.
The programme will aim to greatly reduce or eradicate many of the costs associated with restarting work for up to 5,000 self-employed professionals and micro-businesses. It will support unemployed individuals with access to training and skills, provide funding for professional accreditations and insurance, along with access to a wide range of additional resources.
The project consortium will work closely with more than 500 sector employers, enabling them to address skills shortages and funding the costs of essential training.
Full details of the ReTrain to Retain programme, along with information on how to apply for support, will be confirmed in the coming weeks.