This strategic partnership proposal is built on previous working relationships and arrangements for learners in the fields of education and training. The partnership includes sports organisations that are considered within their lower tiers of professional sports league and extends to include between 12 - 15 adults within sports organisations, undertaking vocational educational training, at lower ends of the coaching pathway, Barnsley Football Club (UK); Luxol Sports (Malta); Sportilia (Italy) and Kercem Ajax Football Club (Malta) will engage in a 22-month long project to combine and share their knowledge of curriculum and coaching competencies, include job-shadowing opportunities and incorporate information, technology and digital application into the project,s design, to support the holistic development for each organisation. A central thread within the project is short-term training opportunities with small groups of each partner's workforce visiting and experiencing different training methods, philosophies and cultures and approaches to youth development provision in other European countries - this principle is actively promoted by the Union of European Football Association (UEFA). To complement teaching, learning and training components within the project, each partner's National Football associations/Federation will contribute to the project in ensuring that validation and accreditation is provided, adding and applying consistently across the European Union football nations. Strategic partners will pool their resources and seek blended and hybrid delivery models so as to support the development of gifted and talented young people, and give the coaches the teaching and learning tools so that they are able to carry out their tasks in a much more informed manner. The acquisition of new skills and methods and enhanced working practices will aid coaches' personal development and increase their chances of moving through coaching pyramid at much faster rates. Partner organisations will be able to configure working arrangements, and include the latest technology and digital applications within their practices, so as to remain in touch with their European counterparts. It is anticipated that reviewing and revising practices will impact on coaches becoming more engaged with their learning materials; organisations become more attractive and competitive supporting improved recruitment and retention strategies, and that organisations become successful within their business and commercial activities in developing talent for senior and international purposes. Being involved in the project will help frame future working environment and settings and sustain growth in elite sporting environments and offer local people increased opportunities in their sporting aspirations.
The main focus was to provide meaningful learning activities for participants that spent week-long periods in hosting partner organisations and that the learning experience formed an integral part of the mobility project. The emphasis was on increasing knowledge, skills and understanding at a mobility participant's coaching (or equivalent) level, although accelerating learning where possible to new knowledge and environments (increasing their level of professionalism) and to showcase examples of best practice at each participating partners' organisation (when hosting). Although relatively inexperienced in this field of mobility, each partner provided a quality learning framework in the field of youth development and provided appropriate training regimes in ensuring that each sending organisations' participants had a positive experience that contributed to both personal and professional growth. This agreed objective framework provided guidance in meeting participants' expectations, met the requirements of Governing bodies (Football Associations/Federations), regulative institutions (i.e. Malta's National School of Sport) that helped to extend learning to those association, bodies and agencies that regulate youth development.
This is/was Barnsley Football Club's concept and first experience of Key Action 2 cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices that used it's existing working relationships with organisations in Malta and Italy to use its English Professional Football experiences in youth development and to facilitate exchanges (and sharing) of practice with its European counterparts. It allowed for aspiring coaches (and other sport related participants) within their learning pathway to extend learning opportunities to those working in the sports industry in undertaking a learning professional experience in another country. Following the European charter for sport, it is considered that the majority of the beneficiaries (organisations and participants) had benefited from their participation which in turn met the need in enhancing professional and personal development through a project timeline, a condensed period of study, work experience, teaching/training assignments and job shadowing.