Last week, Collinson had the pleasure of running the first session of our Agility Gym for Future Coaches, an online programme developed in collaboration with Coach Core, our charity partner. Coach Core is a national apprenticeship programme that gives young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to gain a recognised qualification alongside full time work in the sport for development sector. The aim of our sessions is to keep its apprentices engaged and focussed during these very challenging times, particularly those approaching the end of their studies who are unable to complete their practical exams at this time.
The programme will run for six weeks broken into twelve 90-minute sessions. Last week saw twenty-seven apprentices attend with our people development experts covering practical concepts including effective communication and emotional intelligence to train their ‘ability’ to think, understand and quickly apply learnings through fun, interactive practices. The sessions are designed to keep these young people engaged during these unprecedented times, give them skills they need to bounce back from the crisis, improve the agility of the mind and boost their personal effectiveness as a coach.
COVID-19 has abruptly changed the plans of the apprentices and has thrown their lives into a state of limbo, which has seen their assessments postponed for an extended period of time. Not knowing when they will be able to complete their apprenticeship and transition into further education or employment is really taking its toll and we hope the Agility Gym for Future Coaches programme will help to keep them on track.
As a partner of Coach Core since 2016, aiding its expansion phase in London from Greenhouse, Collinson continues to support the apprenticeship scheme’s efforts to give young people the chance to become the next generation of inspirational coaches and leaders. Up to now, we’ve had the pleasure of supporting 47 London apprentices, witnessing their coaching skills achievements and increase in attitude towards education and professionalism.
