Prospective Football & Education students have been invited to the Pirelli Stadium at Burton Albion FC to a series of workshops and events to prepare them for next September's Level 3 BTEC programme in Sport. These were run in partnership with Burton & South Derbyshire College (BSDC) and supported by the PFA Union Learning Fund (ULF) ‘Achievement Through Sport’ programme and their education team.

The current programme enables boys and girls aged 16-18 to complete a Level 3 BTEC Diploma in Sport alongside representing Burton Albion in a football capacity.

A workshop was held on December 9th 2015 and gave learners the opportunity to meet staff members from both Burton Albion Community Trust (BACT) and BSDC to support them on their current journey. These discussions took place in the Albion/PFA ULF learner centre, and included refreshments, and allowed students to relax and feel part of the club set up as they discussed future careers plans.

Aaron Savva, Education Manager at Burton Albion, spoke to the young people about the importance of ‘added value’ ensuring that they stood out when presenting their CV. He went on to add that it is imperative that the potential students achieve in their up and coming GCSEs, explaining the importance of maths and English in the current employment market.

A second open evening took place on Thursday 19th January 2016, again in the Albion PFA/ULF learner centre. Gemma Lanchester, Burton Albion’s employability officer, was available to speak to prospective learners to discuss future career plans, go through current CVs, and discuss the opportunities available to them if they join Burton Albion’s Football & Education Programme.

The main focus of the open event was to help to map each individual’s future, looking at the Education and Learning pathway offered by Burton Albion. This started with the Football & Education programme, through to apprenticeships and a Foundation Degree in Community Football Development.

Dani Coltman is just one example of a student who graduated from the Football & Education Programme into employment with Burton Albion’s charitable off-shoot Burton Albion Community Trust.

Dani attended the events and answered question from the students and talking about the positive experiences that she has enjoyed.

There were a total of 40 individuals in attendance on the night.

On the 18th February, we invited all of the prospective learners to Blessed Robert Sutton Sports College to take part in coaching sessions delivered by former Burton Albion player Aaron Webster. Aaron is the 1st team coach for the programme and was putting individuals through their paces, showing them the importance of health and fitness. Each participant had the opportunity to speak to Aaron about the programme and what is involved.

Aaron went on to say:

I found it extremely useful speaking to all individuals. I made sure I emphasised the importance of their education and ensuring they achieve good grades, especially in maths and English. I was really impressed to see them all trying so hard and wanting to learn further. I was not expecting such commitment so early on."

Kris Irwin from the PFA attended the event and was interested to see how the day was structured and what impact these days would have on the learners.

During the session Kris explained the PFA’s role within the day and the wider programme, he also took time to speak to some of the learners as the sessions were being set up to find out about their experience of the events.

He said:

It’s always a privilege for our union to support such a great community initiative using the vehicle of education to drive forward positive engagement that helps to embed our union’s corporate social responsibility philosophy, which underpins the broader work of our union learning fund project and we will be looking to extend that developmental work in the future. I have also discussed with Aaron the possibility of him becoming a PFA Union Learning Rep, which he is very enthused about."

The day proved to be successful with some excellent feedback from both staff and students alike.

Cameron Steele, who started on the Football & Education programme, joined in the sessions and shared his journey during the lunch break. Cameron has worked hard during both education and football sessions and earned himself a move to the club’s scholarship programme and he aspires to follow in the footsteps of John Brayford (Sheffield United) and Ash Hunter (Fleetwood Town), who went on to earn themselves professional contracts.

On April 5th prospective students were once again bought back together. This time the cohort had grown significantly. The success of previous events have attracted more interest from the young people of East Staffordshire. A couple of the learners are keen Brewers fans and have gone above and beyond by volunteering within the community activities run by BACT. These learners are keeping a log of their volunteer hours. These hours are working towards rewards and of course an enhanced CV. It is clear that the previous open events have proved to be a success.

The successful students who are selected for the Football & Education programme will join forces on June 2nd 2016 to test themselves against football teams from across the northwest. The event is taking place at Lilleshall in a round-robin tournament. Burton Albion are the current holders of the competition title.

The Football & Education programme is due to start in September. However, these students are already being offered the opportunity to complete a few coaching qualifications including a referees’ activator award.

Burton Albion would like to thank the PFA Union Learning Fund ‘Achievement Through Sport’ programme for its continued support in providing outstanding opportunities for the young people of East Staffordshire and as a result of their support we have managed to engage and enrol over 40 girls and boys on September's programme.

The PFA have also committed extra support to the cohort of students and will be supporting them all with an ICT module in excel through their ULF project, enhancing the value of the BTEC to all those involved.