The Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) and National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure (NSA) are to offer 100 apprenticeships in community sport to aid the development and growth of grassroots boxing.
 
Part of the government’s Future Fund for Jobs programme, the project provides employability training and qualifications to long term unemployed people of over six months and aims to help them into permanent jobs in health, fitness and community sport.
 
After completing the course, participants will be recognised as qualified coaches meeting the sport’s required operating standards for delivering community boxing.
 
The ABAE is recruiting 50 apprentices in Liverpool, Manchester, Bolton, Bradford, Doncaster, Sheffield, London, Bristol and the South West counties of England.

The apprenticeships involve training for a minimum of 25 hours per week for at least six months.  
 
The ABAE’s boxing development manager, Rebecca Gibson says: “This project is a great opportunity for long term unemployed people with an interest in boxing to receive skills training and advice that could lead to a full time career working within the sport and assisting the spread of boxing in communities and schools.” 

Elsewhere, employers can now calculate return-on-investment if they take on an apprentice using a tool launched by the The National Apprenticeship Service.

Designed using research by Warwick University, the The ‘ROI Calculator’ aims to help employers understand the potential returns they could gain from investing in apprenticeships.

The ROI Calculator can be accessed here: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Employers/ROI-Tool.aspx.