ReTrain

Retooling the sport and physical activity workforce

About the project

In September 2020 CIMSPA launched ReTrain, a £1.5m training initiative to help retool the sport and physical activity, funded by the National Lottery through Sport England. CIMSPA led the programme’s design and delivery, in partnership with UK Coaching and EMD UK.

We built an online platform to identify skills gaps across England and match employer needs to delivery via CIMSPA training provider partners, before training delivery commenced. Our priorities:

• Providing £470k of funding to deliver almost 16,000 lifeguard and first aid qualifications, across over 250 organisations, to ensure a safe sector reopening.

• Providing qualifications endorsed against CIMSPA Professional Standards – for example personal trainers, swimming teachers, sports coaches and pool plant operators.

By May 2021, the project had:

• Funded the delivery of almost 2400 qualifications mapped to professional standards, for over 100 employers
• Engaged with over 20 CIMSPA training provider partners to deliver this learning.

Participant feedback

“The funding from CIMSPA has transformed our timetable and allowed us to recruit the correct staff to help us grow as a team and increase our provision. We are proud to be in a position to give opportunities to people that will benefit from new training, bringing new skills into our sector.”

Nayna Patel, Senior Teacher at The Splash Academy, Bolton