18 apprentices get helping hand to top Football Careers

When professional footballer Julian Alsop decided to hang up his boots he had no idea what vocation to take.

But after setting up his own business giving ex-players the opportunity to gain qualifications in sport; he is now training 18 apprentices to make sure they are on target for a top career.

Julian, who runs Gloucestershire-based Football Careers, said: “Having been a professional footballer for nearly 20 years and not having any idea of my next career move, it soon became clear that I needed to have a plan. With no qualifications or job skills that I could rely on, I was left searching for what I wanted to do next.

“If I had, had something like this it would have been brilliant. That’s why I set the business up because I want to help youngsters build a career out of sport. “

Julian is backing the Gloucestershire Apprenticeship Challenge which is run by GFirst, the company that drives Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, in collaboration with colleges in the county.

The campaign, which has seen more than 140 new businesses sign up since January, aims to encourage new employers to take on apprentices and encourage employers that have taken on apprentices in the past to take on new apprentices in different areas of their business.

Earlier this month Julian hired 18 apprentices for the Football Careers Apprenticeship course who will follow a specially devised football coaching course from Gloucestershire College. The apprentices have the opportunity to complete a variety of sports coaching courses as well as first aid, maths and English and other vocations.

The former Cheltenham Town player added: “I realised the benefits that apprenticeships could give to young people and businesses and with the help of people like Roman Cooper from the Local Enterprise Partnership and Gloucestershire College I was able to devise a framework and launch the apprenticeship programme. I want it to take off so we can take on even more apprentices next year.”

One of the apprentices Ross Skeet, 20, from The Reddings, said: “I love football and I have played it since I was really young. I always dreamed of a job in sport but I left school at 16 and didn’t have the qualifications I needed to go to university so I went into office work. I heard about the Football Careers Apprenticeship and went to the trial and got the position. I love it. It gives me the opportunity to get a qualification and experience and now I know it is not a dream it is a reality and if I do the work I am set then a career in coaching is definitely achievable.”

In the mornings the apprentices work towards their qualification and in the afternoons they go into schools or local football clubs to work with youngsters. A lot of the apprentices play for Bishop’s Cleeve Football Club and during the summer the FC Apprentices run soccer camps.

Roman Cooper, board member for Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “When Julian came to GFirst to find out more about apprenticeships we were more than happy to help. Apprenticeships are vital for businesses to succeed in the current economic climate, which is why Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership is so committed to getting county businesses to take on apprentices. To see Football Careers taking on 18 apprentices is just fantastic. If all our businesses did the same we would see a growing thriving and talented workforce throughout Gloucestershire.”

Football Careers is running football camps around Cheltenham throughout the summer in partnership with the YMCA. Visit www.footballerscareers.com for more information.

For more information about the Gloucestershire Apprenticeship Challenge call Sarah Danson at GFirst on 01452 328318 or email sarah.danson@glosfirst.co.uk.