National Apprenticeship Week: Like father like son! Family duo take on apprenticeships together with Ignite Training’s support
Posted on: 6th Feb 2024
Apprenticeships 
As a training provider, Ignite Training is proud of the long-standing partnerships we build with employers who come to us for their apprenticeship delivery.
By investing in apprenticeships, our partner organisations boost the job satisfaction and retention of their people, which in turn helps them improve overall business efficiency and performance.
Key to ensuring benefits are as widespread as possible is having a portfolio of courses that is adequately varied and provides the key skills, knowledge and competencies they need to succeed.
It also means we stay true to the theme of this year’s National Apprenticeship Week – Skills for Life – and underline the power of apprenticeships as a cost-effective way to learn while you earn and bolster skillsets, at any stage of your career.
One of our partners, Birmingham-based Sports and Community Mentoring organisation Sporting Elite CIC, is an especially strong example of this idea – as both the founder and his son are enrolled in apprenticeships.
We spoke to Sebastian Hamilton, to gain his insights into partnering with Ignite Training and how it will help the organisation develop and expand the services it offers.
Engagement through sport
Sebastian founded Sporting Elite in 2015 with a view to leveraging the power of sport to transform communities for the better.
The organisation collaborates with local schools and West Midlands Police to deliver community sports activities, PE lessons and mentoring sessions for young people.
He said: “I started Sporting Elite as I saw the opportunity to reach out to kids across Birmingham who may be at risk of taking the wrong path.
“A lot of kids who may have difficulties at home or behavioural challenges at school and can fall through the cracks.
“Some end up involved in anti-social behaviour, even falling into the hands of gangs. I want kids to understand the impact taking the wrong path can have later on in your life by providing a positive alternative through our sports sessions.”
Quality delivery
For Sebastian, partnering with Ignite Training was an ideal way to ensure Sporting Elite staff were optimally equipped to ensure quality delivery of their services.
This meant enrolling three apprentices, including himself on the Level 5 Learning and Skills Tutor qualification, and son Rio, 18, studying the Level 2 Community Activator Coach apprenticeship.
Sebastian added: “Apprenticeships have been a game-changer.
“They have allowed us to do so much more with the business, delivering sports sessions and PE lessons in schools with kids of all ages.
“Overall, this has helped strengthen our offering and deliver on our ambition of making a positive impact on young lives locally.”
Flexible approach
Sebastian pointed to several strengths of working with Ignite Training and highlighted the tailored approach given to apprenticeship delivery.
He said: “Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, the team at Ignite have taken the time to really understand the way we work and adapt the apprenticeship teaching and delivery to suit us.
“They appreciate the timetable demands we face as a business, especially working with schools, mean we need flexibility in terms of our learning hours and they have been very responsive to this.
“I couldn’t speak highly enough of Ignite and recommend them to any sports organisation looking to invest in their staff.”
Conclusion
At Ignite Training, we are passionate about seeing the transformative impact on businesses of unlocking the power of continuing professional development.
We believe apprenticeships are a cost-effective way for individuals to level-up their career development and a powerful tool for organisations to achieve their strategic goals.
By providing organisations with dedicated points of contact in small, dedicated account teams, we nurture strong, long-term working relationships with our partner employers.
Get in touch!
If you represent an organisation considering hiring an apprentice, speak to our friendly team today who can provide more information.
Our Business Development Manager Sorcha Murphy can be contacted via s.murphy@ignitesportuk.com or email hello@ignitetraining.com for more details.
We hope to hear from you soon!
