An innovative course developed by South Birmingham College was unveiled to the leisure industry at a major conference.

South Birmingham College, a specialist provider of construction and vocational training, has developed a NVQ alongside the Sports and Play Construction Association (SAPCA), the UK trade association for the sports facility construction industry.
 
The College promoted the new qualification at the Leisure Industry Week exhibition at the NEC.
 
It is the first ever qualification to give participants the ability to demonstrate their competence and ability to install and maintain sports and play surfaces. The assessment will take place on site with associated training provided at South Birmingham College’s specialist Centre for the Built Environment in Bordesley Green, which was formally adopted by SAPCA as its National Training Centre.
 
Dr Colin Young, Technical & Training Manager at SAPCA, said: “The UK is very much a knowledge-based economy and we need to trade on our ability to provide high standards.
 
“We’ve had a lot of interest from businesses which have previously had no way of proving their competency.”
 
Brian Tomkinson, business development manager at South Birmingham College, said:
 
“We’re very proud of this qualification and events like this are essential to spreading the word about it. We’ve met a lot of people in the industry who are keen to see how the NVQ can help their staff and provide quality and long-lasting sports and play surfaces.”
 
 “If local authorities, sports centres and other organisations with these facilities ask that their contractors have the Sport and Play Surfaces qualification, they will have peace of mind that they have been properly trained and assessed by experts in the industry and achieved a nationally recognised standard of competence.”
 
Raising standards throughout the UK is one of the main reasons SAPCA and South Birmingham College launched the qualification for the installation and maintenance of sports and play surfaces.
 
For further information about the launch of the new qualification, or on becoming an assessor, call 0121 694 5000 or e-mail admissions@sbc.ac.uk