Work-ready graduates through higher education partnership

CIMSPA’s higher education partnership network is growing, as higher education establishments team up with the institute to help create degree programmes that also foster employable skills for graduates.

• Launched in 2019, CIMSPA’s higher education endorsement scheme aligns undergraduate and post- graduate degree programmes with the chartered institute’s employer- led professional standards.

• The programme was developed by CIMSPA and its higher education partners, and has been ratified by the sector’s employers to ensure the content of CIMSPA-endorsed degrees provides students with the knowledge, skills and experience that employers value most.

• This, in turn, ensures that graduates of these endorsed degree programmes are ‘work ready’: they have demonstrated they have the knowledge and skills required for a particular job, so they can step into their first career role in the sector.

Professional qualifications

The first professional qualifications have been issued to students and graduates of endorsed degrees over the past year – giving operators access to a bigger, multi-skilled workforce.

Such a qualification confers a status that is awarded by the pertinent body to honour the achievement of competency within an occupation, outlined by the professional standard completed.

Industry-relevant qualifications

CIMSPA’s higher education partnership network is growing, with 34 universities and higher education institutions engaging with the chartered institute to build employable skills into degree programmes to make graduates more employable. To date, more than 100 degrees across the UK have been endorsed by CIMSPA.

Of these, 14 institutions have been able to apply to CIMSPA for Professional Qualification certificates across a number of occupations, environments and populations in exercise and fitness, community sport and performance sport industry areas.

Students completing CIMSPA- endorsed programmes can gain a degree endorsed against a number of CIMSPA’s employer-led professional standards such as General Manager, Gym Instructor, Coach, Health Navigator and Personal Trainer.

For example, a student who has achieved a CIMSPA-endorsed BA (Hons) Sports Coaching and Development, is awarded the Coach, Working in the Community Environment and Working with Inactive People professional qualifications.

Similarly, a student who has achieved Level 4 on a CIMSPA-endorsed BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science, receives a professional qualification of Gym Instructor.

Benefiting operators

Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, Lancashire was one of the original cohort of 10 universities to take part in CIMSPA’s higher education endorsement pilot.

“We try to ensure students and staff are appropriately prepared to meet the challenges of the industry, over the next five to 10 years. This ensures students engage in studies that are industry- relevant and academically rigorous.

“This is underpinned by our staff, teaching and research that support a wider range of communities and diverse sets of students,” says Andy Smith, professor of sport and physical activity and a member of the senior management team in the Department of Sport and Physical Activity.

As such, the university has aligned a number of its sport and physical activity degrees with CIMSPA professional standards.

“The endorsement process has been an excellent platform to develop our strategic plans for our provision of sport management, sports coaching and sport, physical activity and mental health. Prospective students are already enquiring about CIMSPA endorsement of our undergraduate and postgraduate courses at our recruitment events.

“We explain how the CIMSPA endorsement has been central to the work we have been doing over the past eight years. We also explain how this has increased student employment and provided an excellent, nationally recognised teaching and learning experience,” explains Professor Smith.

“Our current students have already noticed how being associated with CIMSPA has been recognised very positively from prospective employers. That can only bode well for future generations of graduates.”

The higher education endorsement programme has already benefited the likes of Everton Football Club.

“My staff and I have been consistently impressed with the quality, enthusiasm and commitment of Edge Hill’s sports development, management and coaching students when working with us to improve our communities,” says Michael Salla, Everton FC’s director of health and sport.

“They have been critical to the success of many of our programmes where, as part of their CIMSPA- endorsed programmes, we have been able to support students to undertake paid, voluntary and placement work to obtain real world experience of working in sport, health and wellbeing.

“We’ve been so impressed with the quality of students who have worked with us that we now employ several of them, including in senior roles, across the organisation.

He adds: “The CIMSPA endorsement of their programmes clearly adds significant value to their studies, and professional development, and equips them extremely well for obtaining graduate employment and further study at the end of their undergraduate programme.”