- Area:
- Wales
- Programme:
- People and Places
- Release date:
- 21 6 2012
Over 100 people will be primed for a career in the booming outdoor activity sector in North Wales and nearly one thousand more volunteering opportunities will be created to teach people new skills in the industry thanks to a £420k award from the Big Lottery Fund.
Outdoor tourism and sport contributes over £300 million annually to the North Wales economy. Now, thanks to a £420,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s (BIG) People and Places programme, the Outdoor Partnership organisation in North Wales aims to take full advantage of the buoyant outdoor activity sector and create more employment opportunities for local people in the area.
The Outdoor Partnership (previously known as the North West Wales Outdoor Partnership) has been operating since 2005 and aims to promote employment, education, training, mentoring and volunteering opportunities for local people in the outdoor sector.
The organisation is concerned that there are currently low levels of participation amongst local young people and lower levels of participation amongst young Welsh speaking people in the outdoor activity sector, many of whom have direct access to the abundance of natural facilities in North Wales. This results in few Welsh speaking instructors and management staff employed by the outdoor businesses.
Through the BIG funded Pathways to Employment Outdoors programme, the Outdoor Partnership aims to increase the representation and participation of local people, especially Welsh speakers, in the outdoor activities sector in North Wales. Around 900 volunteers will be recruited and trained to gain National Governing Body awards for a range of outdoor activities such as mountain leaders, climbing, paddle-sports, sailing and mountain bike leaders’ qualifications.
A mentoring scheme will also be developed for volunteer leaders and skills development programmes will be offered to 180 economically inactive local people. The aim is to provide a route into employment in the sector for at least 110 people. The project will target 16 Communities First areas to raise awareness of employment and volunteering in the sector and aims to increase outdoor club membership in the area by 5,400 over three years. The grant over three years will pay for the salaries of three full-time officers to deliver the project.
Delighted with the funding and looking forward to getting the three year project underway, Paul Frost, Chairman of The Outdoor Partnership, said: “Outdoor tourism and sport contribute over £300m to the North Wales economy and this grant helps to put local people at the centre of the outdoor industry. This grant allows us to further develop support and training to coaches, instructors and volunteers in outdoor activities and sports.”
According to Tracey Evans, the Chief Executive Officer of The Outdoor Partnership, there is a genuine need for a project such as this one in North Wales: “Research has shown that the sector is largely developed by people who have moved into the area. This risks the local culture, language and heritage, bringing a feeling of alienation amongst local people. Hence a "cultural vicious cycle" has been defined: low levels of outdoor participation among local people - lead to low levels of local employment - hence reduced engagement of local people - resulting in low levels of outdoor participation.”
“The aim of our new Pathways to Employment Outdoors programme is to increase participation by local people, especially Welsh speakers, in the outdoor activities sector in North Wales. Our programme will support individuals with limited or no experience of the outdoors to those working towards their leadership or coaching qualifications to becoming Outdoor Instructors. People will gain confidence, experience, knowledge and qualifications essential for working in the outdoors.”
Highlighting the importance of programmes such as People and Places, Big Lottery Fund Wales Chair, Sir Adrian Webb, said: “The current financial climate has had an impact on funders, service deliverers, statutory bodies and, most importantly, the people we work with. This should not be underestimated. Through programmes like People and Places, our mission to bring improvements to communities and the lives of those most in need continues to be at the very heart of everything we do. And by channelling money to projects such as this one, we will continue to empower local people to develop their own solutions to the issues and opportunities that face them.”
The new Pathways to Employment Outdoors programme project will start on the 1st of August 2012. For more information about the project please contact Tracey Evans on 01690 720 106 or email tracey.evans@outdoorpartnership.co.uk.
The People and Places programme awards grants of between £5,001 and £1 million for a broad range of community projects. For further information about the People and Places programme and how you can apply for funding, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/wales
For further information about the People and Places programme and how you can apply for funding, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/wales
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Oswyn Hughes: 02920 678 207
Out of hours contact: 07760 171 431
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/biglotterywales
Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/biglotteryfundwales
Public Enquiries Line: 0300 123 0735
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- In Wales, the Big Lottery Fund is rolling out close to £100k a day in Lottery good cause money, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across Wales most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
- The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to Good Causes. As a result, over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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