BT AND MANCHESTER CITY TO SUPPORT LOCAL YOUTH
BT, the Royal Foundation and Manchester City are joining forces with a range of sports organisations in the North West to create full-time apprenticeships for young people in the area.
On February 21st, Manchester City’s “City in the Community” foundation hosted a showcase of the new Team Manchester Coach Core scheme at its City Football Academy, demonstrating the breadth of training and skills the apprentices will learn.
Team Manchester is run under the Royal Foundation’s Coach Core banner, which is a programme created as part of the Olympic Legacy which aims to create inspirational sports coaches to deliver sport in the community. The link up is part of a new wider initiative between The Royal Foundation and BT which will see a them collaborating on a similar scheme in Essex as part of The Royal Foundation’s goal to establish Coach Core as a national programme in ten sites across the UK.
As part of the scheme, selected youngsters will be chosen to be part of the BT Sport experiential team at the UEFA Champions League Final in Cardiff in June. BT Sport will also work with the Foundation to give support for training and development in media, and in 2018 aspires to create two new apprentice roles within the BT Sport team which could be filled by Coach Core apprentices.
Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “BT is passionate about the power of sport and its ability to change lives for the better. We have been a long-term supporter of many projects that use sport to inspire lives, raising millions of pounds, providing the time of our people to volunteer and raising the profile of good causes via BT Sport programming.”
Team Manchester aims to develop the next generation of sports coaches but to also prepare them for a number of career paths within the sports industry. Via this unique programme, they not only undertake a multitude of qualifications, workshops and experiences but they are also supported on their journey by a number of mentors and support workers.
Since The Royal Foundation established Coach Core in 2012, nearly 100 apprentices from challenging backgrounds have graduated from the Coach Core scheme with 98% going into full time education or employment. HRH Prince Henry of Wales said: "William, Catherine and I are thrilled that Coach Core has now launched in Manchester creating a chance for young people from every background to join an incredible apprenticeship and take the first steps towards becoming sports coaches. Manchester is a city which is full of sporting heroes, I am pleased that through Coach Core Team Manchester, we will be creating a group of sports coaches who can in turn inspire other young people from their community."
Manchester City Women’s player Lucy Bronze said: “I’ve seen first-hand the positive impact City in the Community initiatives are having right here in Manchester and I’m proud that we’re teaming up with the Royal Foundation and BT to offer life-shaping apprenticeships. Today has been a lot of fun and I think we have all been inspired by the passion and work ethic displayed by the apprentices.”