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Aston Villa FC Narrative.

More than football.

In this life we are all dealt with very different hands, whether that is from the environment we are born into or the things that happen to us along the way. Either way, it’s how we play these hands that determines the standard of life we will ultimately have.

Aston Villa Football Club is part of the most competitive and compelling football competition in the world. The Premier League and its clubs use the power and popularity of the competition to inspire fans, communities and partners in the UK and across the world, bringing people together from all backgrounds. It is a competition for everyone, everywhere and is available to watch in over 1 billion homes in 189 countries.

With this platform, AVFC has the potential to not only entertain and inspire, but educate and give futures to many millions of people around the world. By developing a world leading education system with AVFC at the hub, not only of its local community but as a trailblazer for other clubs alike, the ripple effect occurs, and the impact on so many lives can be profound.

AVFC can not only give the people within their club opportunities to achieve a standard of life they desire, but thousands of others associated with it.

It’s more than just football.

Purpose.

The purpose of this proposal is to establish a blueprint of how this will be possible working in partnership with the SCCU Group.

The Dream.

To establish an industry leading education system that feeds a culture of learning and development across all levels of Aston Villa Football Club and its communities.

The Blueprint.

The following objectives within this proposal outline how this will be achieved. With the establishment of an end-to-end, white-labelled learning and development managed service which will encompass all elements of education and training across the club and wider community.

The Tools.

The fully managed suite of services will support AVFC learning and development strategy.

Services include:

  • A complete learning and development managed service
  • Apprenticeship Levy and digital account management
  • Recruitment and learner engagement
  • End point assessment organisations management
  • Management of the delivery workforce
  • Management of the quality of provision
  • Staff needs analysis
  • Consultation, advice and guidance

Should training needs fall outside the current offering we will source, manage and quality assure the provision of other agencies.

We will support the club in the recruitment of new apprentices.

These vacancies will be advertised across multiple job boards and platforms ensuring the best candidates for your positions. This is undertaken by our recruitment team and our applicant tracking system where we will screen, shortlist and present applicants to you. This can be fully integrated into the club’s current recruitment processes, as much or as little as required.

As an Ofsted regulated organisation the quality of our provision is paramount to the service we deliver. To ensure this we will:

  • Provide a dedicated account manager responsible for quality assurance and contract performance.
  • Provide a dedicated learning and development coordinator for queries.
  • Ensure continuous high quality of service, monitored through the regular reporting on agreed performance measures and KPIs.
  • Attend regular review meetings as required.
  • Provide a wide range of Management Information reports as agreed for a range of stakeholders.
  • Attend regular operational and planning meetings as required.
  • Provide apprenticeship mentor training for relevant staff.

We will ensure all GDPR and DfE funding rules are met inline with current legislation.

Furthermore, any other policies and procedures and non-disclosure agreements in line with AVFC. 

AVFC will have their own dedicated white-labelled Learner Management System where all staff can access their learning.

The management and analysis of training will be conducted through the AVFC learning platform. This will allow all staff to access various functionality and manage their learning.

The system will produce a management dashboard where back end data will be able to be viewed for analysis of the provision and progress of staff.

All learning will take place in the workplace, with each learner being assigned their own work based tutor.

The cohort may also be taught as a group to allow for peer to peer support as well as independent learning. 

All learning will be tailored around the needs of the learner; these needs are identified through various software and analysis tools to develop an individual learning plan that is right for them.

The Materials.

These are the services that will be used to build a compelling education system that will support staff and the wider community whilst growing a future workforce for the club and its community.

Pre Apprenticeship Academy

The pre-apprenticeship academy will offer opportunities to the local community to become apprentices and/or job ready. This provides people with the training and qualifications needed to secure potential vacancies within the club, local businesses or with club partners.

This is a fully funded programme for those aged 19-23 that lasts from 6 weeks to 6 months with a 2 week work placement built in. This placement not only allows the learner to gain valuable experience, but also allows the employer to make a judgement as to if that person would be good for their organisation.

These can be run multiple times across the year for specific sectors, for example, administration, coaching, stewarding, hospitality. This ensures that learners have the required minimum standard to be successful in an apprenticeship or job role.

Age Group: 19-23
Cost: Fully Funded
Duration: 6 weeks – 6 months
Programme: Traineeships

Apprenticeship Academy

The AVFC apprenticeship academy will allow year on year development of new hungry staff to the workforce. This gives you the ability to grow and shape your own talent in the club’s ethos in areas that support the club’s long term strategy.

The academy will allow for an annual influx of talent but also the ability to have a rolling recruitment process as and when required.

The academy will allow a platform to build a workforce of the future across all departments.

Age Group: 16+
Cost: Fully funded
Duration: 12 months-36 months
Programme: Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship Course List

Work Based Learning

A club-wide approach to utilising the apprenticeship levy by up-skilling current employed members of staff on to work-based learning programmes (Apprenticeships)

Many members of staff may already be in a role but have never had the formal training to support it. Furthermore, they may be moving up the ranks or into new areas where formal training will be invaluable to them in succeeding in their role.

With currently over 40 different programmes available through SCCU, this is a great opportunity to upskill staff with apprenticeships starting at Level 2 and going all the way up to Level 7.

A club-wide approach will be taken with regards to the mapping and needs analysis of appropriate training to ensure the utilisation of apprenticeship funds for the best return.

Age Group: 16+
Cost: Fully Funded
Duration: 12 months-36 months
Programme: Work-Based Learning (Apprenticeships)

Apprenticeship Course List

Professional Development Courses

There is a large suite of training available which can be accessed through the AVFC Learning Portal, allowing staff to continuously keep up on their professional development as well as meet regulatory requirements annually and when required.

The CPD courses will be constantly updated and added to throughout the year. Courses can be added to suite at AVFC request.

Should staff require training that falls outside of the funded programmes, these will be available commercially.

Furthermore, as part of the partnership offering, we will offer a number of courses free of charge to be accessed each year value to be agreed based on contracted funded provision.

Age Group: 16+
Cost: Commercial
Duration: Variable
Programme: Commercial

View Current Courses

Curriculum Development

Training and Apprenticeships can be tailored to meet the needs of the club to future-proof the workforce in line with the growth of AVFC.
Developing bespoke, AVFC branded programmes that meet the Clubs priorities, offering contextualised learning that incorporates the Club’s vision, values, processes and practices.

The bespoke training will be developed in partnership with the club to meet the specific needs of each department and the roles staff are partaking in to ensure a fit for purpose curriculum of training. This can be part of an apprenticeship provision, as well as staff professional development programmes that underpin strategic objectives.

Furthermore, SCCU would be keen to work with AVFC in developing bespoke accredited and non-accredited qualifications for internal and external use. This could also be in the form of an Apprenticeship trailblazers which can form a benchmark for other sports clubs nationally.

Development of New Apprenticeship Standards

Where there is an identified need within the club for new apprenticeship standards, we will work in partnership with the club to seek approval from the institute of apprenticeship and manage the process.

This process requires a number of industry organisations supporting the demand for the new apprenticeships, from this a formation of an industry steering group is required. The steering group then develops and agrees the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for the standards and this is then submitted to the institute of apprenticeship for approval.

We will support and facilitate this whole process.

We look forward to discussing this with you in further detail.

Thank you,
Scott Riddell

[email protected]