NCL is National Skills Academy training provider

North Country Leisure has recently become a National Skills Academy approved provider in Leisure Operations across the northeast and northwest regions.

To be approved, providers have to show that the training they deliver is of exceptional quality, that they have an excellent understanding of the sector and offer relevant training, and that they have a proven track record of delivering training to the sport and active leisure sector.

NCL delivers both funded and commercial training to fitness and leisure employees, including Leisure Apprenticeships, First Aid at Work, Pool Lifeguard, Swimming Teaching and Leisure Management training. As an operator of leisure centres across Northumberland and Cumbria, NCL has an intimate knowledge of the sector, the challenges facing staff, and the most appropriate types of training.

The National Skills Academy brings good quality, cost-effective training solutions from its training provider network, to up-skill and professionalise the workforce in the leisure industry. By doing this, providers such as NCL will be able to offer their expertise to a wider spread of employers, enabling them to access quality assured training. In turn, employers in the region will be able to feed their comments and needs through approved providers like NCL to help steer the development of new and existing qualification frameworks and funding sources.

Oli Lougheed, Account Manager at Skills Active says, “This is an exciting development for employers in the northeast and Cumbria in particular, allowing them to access quality assured training and have their say nationally, as employers in other areas have been able to do previously.”

NCL is looking to work with the National Skills Academy to increase the number of apprentices on the successful apprenticeship scheme.

John Maude, NCL’s Chief Executive says, “We are delighted to be approved by Skills Active to deliver apprenticeships and qualifications to leisure employers in the north east  and north west of England. These are great opportunities for people to develop knowledge and skills to the benefit of our customers in the leisure industry.”