Chelsea Football Club teams up with Essex County Council for apprenticeship scheme

ESSEX County Council (ECC) is teaming up with Chelsea Football Club and SEEVIC College to pioneer a unique apprenticeship scheme targeting looked-after children and young carers in Essex. This unique scheme offers the group a once in a lifetime opportuni

ESSEX County Council (ECC) is teaming up with Chelsea Football Club and SEEVIC College to pioneer a unique apprenticeship scheme targeting looked-after children and young carers in Essex.

This unique scheme offers the group a once in a lifetime opportunity to develop a football coaching career with one of the game's most respected and prestigious institutions.

Twelve young people will be selected from a group of 25 to undertake a 15 month Level 2 Apprenticeship in Active Leisure and Learning. During the course the apprentices will gain a technical certificate in football coaching as well as studying the sports industry as a whole. Keys skills including maths and English will also be covered by the syllabus.

Leader of ECC, Lord Hanningfield, said: "It is our greatest pleasure to be working with Chelsea Football Club and SEEVIC College to deliver a programme that will be of such benefit to looked-after children and young carers in Essex.

"Our aim is to give them more than just a career, but the confidence to live their lives to the full after, as is often the case, a disrupted or even traumatised childhood."

Head of Football in the Community at Chelsea Football Club, Shaun Gore, said: "We believe that football can be used to develop young people not only as coaches but also to teach them valuable life skills, restore self esteem and build their confidence.

"This outstanding programme builds upon our years of experience working alongside groups that have been traditionally hard to engage and we are delighted to be working in partnership with ECC and SEEVIC College on this groundbreaking scheme."

Twenty-two young people will be chosen via an assessment weekend on October 3 and 4 where they will undertake a selection process which involves theoretical and practical tasks. They will then go on to complete a community sports leaders award where the 12 highest performing candidates will be chosen by SEEVIC College and Chelsea Football Club to continue on to the Apprenticeship programme while completing a full FA Coaching Level 2 qualification with employment offered upon successful completion.