Phil Smith highlights “great progress” at CIMSPA & Quest NBS conference
Over 300 sport and physical activity sector professionals were present in Kenilworth this week to hear Phil Smith, Director of Sport, Sport England, deliver a message of strong support for the work of the sector’s chartered institute.
Speaking at the third joint CIMSPA and Quest NBS conference, Phil Smith opened his keynote presentation by saying how proud he was to be a CIMSPA member himself, before congratulating Tara Dillon and the CIMSPA team on the outstanding progress made over the past year.
Phil singled out how the ongoing development of a sector workforce strategy has been an early success within Sport England’s own work, commenting: “I’m proud to say that with CIMSPA we are making great progress.”
His message for the audience directly connected the institute’s workforce development progress with the wider Towards an Active Nation strategy – “CIMSPA has Sport England’s complete backing, which is more than financial. It’s a belief that our industry is coming of age and that in doing so, we make a positive difference to lives on a national scale.”
Phil Smith’s presentation came at the end of a highly successful conference for the sector’s chartered institute.
Earlier in the day, John Amaechi OBE challenged the audience to actively question their own biases and thinking when building a diverse staff team. The conference also saw the Health and Safety Executive launch the new edition of “Managing Health and Safety in Swimming Pools”, with Cameron Adam and Frances Kelly on hand to explain the ideas underpinning the new guidance and how the document reflects HSE policy.
Speaking about the event, Tara Dillon, CIMSPA CEO, said:
“Phil Smith’s message of support and encouragement is a welcome affirmation of the progress already made. We are passionate about the people who make our sector great, and the strong support of Sport England and government reinforces how important our work is.
“I’d like to thank every one of today’s presenters who have so generously given their time and professional excellence for our event today – they have provided a superb programme of engaging and informative sessions for an enthusiastic audience.
“I would also like to thank our sponsor exhibitors and awarding organisation partners for their participation and support – backing which allows us to hold this conference.”
A full conference report will be published shortly on the event’s microsite: www.cimspa-conference.org