GM Active, a collective of 12 leisure and community organisations from across Greater Manchester, is upskilling its workforce to meet public health needs.
Launching the GM Active Skills and Training Academy, the collective aims to equip all 3,600 of GM Active’s employees with the skills to support and meet the needs of their customers and address the challenges of inactivity in the region. Upskilling leisure sector workforces will also provide better outcomes for local communities and the NHS.
The training academy is being supported by GreaterSport and made possible with investment from the National Lottery, through the Local Pilot in Greater Manchester with Sport England, and delivered in partnership with the training provider, Future Fit Training.
Training topics include coronavirus recovery and resilience, mental health and wellbeing, boosting engagement with people with long-term health conditions to lead more active and healthier lives, and working with older people to help them start and stay active.
“Our leisure and cultural workforces and facilities contribute hugely to public wellbeing and are on the frontline of the prevention agenda. Our new training academy will widen and enhance awareness and understanding of the latest and emerging public health and leisure sector issues, enabling more staff to apply their new knowledge and skills when supporting our customers and delivering more targeted interventions,” said Andy King, vice chair of GM Active.
The training answers our vision for community leisure to play a unique role in developing a new ‘national wellness service’ to support the NHS and the national prevention strategy to tackle the conditions posing the greatest threat to health and social care services.
