John Lewis Partnership has recently celebrated the second anniversary of its Partners in Sport programme by announcing that it has trained almost 200 Partners (employees) as sports coaches over the past twelve months, providing over 40,000 hours of support to local communities.
Overwhelmingly, football was the sport of choice for almost half of the Partner coaches, followed by athletics, swimming and netball.
Launched in autumn 2008, Partners in Sport is an innovative programme that enables Partners (employees) of John Lewis Partnership to engage in sport, touch the spirit of the Olympics and lead healthier lifestyles in the run up to London 2012. Partners can apply for a range of things including; training to be a sports coach, help in setting up fitness clubs and facilities in their branch or even competing at a national and international level for the UK. The programme will continue through to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A core element of the programme is a strategic partnership with Sports Coach UK, the government-backed agency with responsibility for the development of the UK coaching system. John Lewis Partners in Sport will contribute towards the Government’s targets in grassroots coaching by training up to 1,000 Partners to qualify as sports coaches in their local community.
Simon Wardell, Manager, Partners in Sport, John Lewis Partnership:
“We are delighted to be able to provide such a tangible benefit to improve the wellbeing and develop the skills of our workforce. Our Partners in Sport programme was introduced to enable Partners to engage in sport as well as have a healthier lifestyle in the run up to London 2012. Partners told us they were keen to gain a coaching qualification to give back to their local communities, to develop new skills and to improve their own health. Two years in, we are well on our way to achieving our goals –in terms of our workforce and helping the local community.”
