Active Humber and CIMSPA are collaborating to strengthen the sport and physical activity workforce

Active Humber and CIMSPA are working in partnership to strengthen the sport and physical activity workforce across The Humber. 

A strong example of our collaboration was Active Futures: Strengthening Skills for a Healthier Humber, which brought partners together to focus on workforce development, shared priorities and the future needs of the sport, physical activity and VCSE sector. 

The event reflected a shared commitment from both organisations to support a workforce that is better connected, better recognised and better equipped to help communities become more active and healthier. Active Humber’s workforce and skills work highlight the importance of embedding sport and physical activity within wider work, health and skills priorities, while its partnership with CIMSPA is centred on raising standards and helping professionals to be recognised and qualified throughout their careers.

Through the Active Futures event, Active Humber and CIMSPA created space for employers, education providers, sector leaders and wider partners to come together around the opportunities and challenges facing the Humber. 

In Cherelle Mitchell’s words, the event showed the value of bringing together 'key partners from across the sport and physical activity ecosystem' to create “stronger conversations, better shared understanding, and more joined up action."

The collaboration also demonstrated how workforce development is most effective when it is locally connected. We will continue this work, delivering local Active Futures Employer Business Networks, to continue the conversation and be part of a wider effort to keep employers engaged and build a more sustainable, skilled workforce across the Humber.

Partners referenced in the collaboration included organisations from across education, local government, health, community delivery and the wider sport and physical activity system, including the University of Hull, Hull Sport & Active Wellbeing, Hull College, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority, Yorkshire Cancer Research, Sportsability Fitness Educator and Hull KR Foundation. That breadth of engagement highlights the strength of the partnership and the shared belief that improving workforce skills and connections can support healthier, more active communities.

This work aligns closely with Active Humber’s wider advocacy and work, health and skills agenda, which emphasises collaborative working, stronger links between physical activity and regional priorities, and the importance of a trusted, skilled workforce. Active Humber and CIMSPA’s work through Active Futures also supports the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Fit and Healthy agenda, which recognises that better health helps people get into work, stay in work and live well. The workforce development in sport and physical activity with wider health and employment priorities, the partnership helps show how a skilled, trusted sector can play a practical role in getting people healthier for work and supporting a stronger local economy.