It might seem like an odd solution, but the answer to getting more young people hooked on sport and physically active may lie much closer to those groups than we originally thought. Working as Sports Coordinator for ColegauCymru since 2014 has given me a chance first hand to see the ability of student volunteers and also the potential of further education (FE) colleges to provide a sustainable workforce.
A large part of my role involves working with colleges to get more students active and volunteering. The first ever FE Sport Survey in 2015 provided some valuable guidance; for example did you know that 23% of FE students aged 16-19 volunteer in sport? Also that 83% of students would like to do more activity even though in some subject areas up to 50% are still currently inactive?
From some initial work with colleges and my previous employment in FE it was apparent that “Sport Students” were engaged in a wide range of volunteering while studying for vocational qualifications. Data already available included 1,300 Sports Leaders delivered over 13,000 hours of community volunteering from FE alone. We also knew there were 3,000 FE sport students in Wales who could potentially deliver up to 40 hours each of volunteering linked to their study – potentially 120,000 hours per year of workforce.
After some initial discussion with colleges and viewing some of the excellent work already in place some strategic priorities were identified. These included the need to provide quality opportunities for young leaders to develop in FE and also collaborative partnerships realising the potential of the FE workforce with a wider audience. After two years this is still definitely a work in progress but some of the new developments introduced are listed below.
· Promotion of the Young Ambassadors programme in FE for young ambassadors moving from school to college
· Student Management Teams developed in 12 colleges providing Young Ambassadors and student leaders with the opportunity to develop activity for their peer groups and support projects
· Over 40 new NGB–college partnerships linked to workforce and volunteering
· Development of new funded placements for HE students to support FE sports development and enrichment - over 1,600 hours in 5 colleges
· Embedding volunteering as a strategic priority for ColegauCymru and a key theme for the Welsh Colleges Sport conferences
· Promoting volunteering opportunities via the new Welsh Colleges Sport website under the “Get Involved” theme and encouraging colleges to reward volunteering via MV etc
Alongside this work, colleges have continued to develop student volunteers and deploy them in community settings. Typically this will involve sports students coaching in primary schools and supporting sports development in the community, at festivals and other events. On an annual basis the list of colleges and students winning national and UK wide awards for volunteering work continues to grow, demonstrating outstanding community volunteering.
There are three areas where I think FE colleges would really benefit from increasing their support for volunteering and leadership:
1. Student management teams provide a really viable sports development workforce for an FE college and examples in Coleg Sir Gâr and Coleg Gwent Cross Keys have supported this with the fantastic work their students do.
2. There is also a strong case to deploy student volunteers more in their own colleges. Some colleges have over 6,000 full time students and can be viewed as “communities” in their own right. There are not always enough resources or staff in colleges to provide activity for all students, but many have students who could lead on activities and “activate” their peers. Supporting these FE students with HE placements could also provide another level of support.
3. There is also an opportunity to develop the volunteering and coaching skills of learners in other subject areas. Areas such as childcare, travel and tourism, public services and performing arts all have a natural link to physical activity and leadership. Childcare in particular could potentially have a wider impact if we can use FE students to increase physical activity in nurseries and childcare settings.
I think my overriding experience of the first two years of this project has been that when students are provided with the opportunity to volunteer they very rarely disappoint. In fact, more often than not, they exceed expectations. They need the right type of support from college staff, some targets to work towards and maybe a bit of funding to work with, but they have a real commitment to deliver once they have this in place.
There are some really big challenges ahead for colleges to tackle inactivity among student groups, particularly female students and other groups with low participation rates. There is also a need to increase the employability of students and ensure they are also “fit” for employment. I think that the answer to tackling these challenges lies closer to home than we may have first thought, with the right support and investment the student workforce in FE can provide a viable answer to getting communities more active in FE and the wider population.
Rob Baynham is the Sports Coordinator for ColegauCymru, responsible for supporting the development of all sport in FE colleges in Wales.
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