Sports Employability Academy

• Gain valuable experience within the sports industry
• Add qualifications to your CV
• Enhance your professional development and strengthen your employability portfolio
• Support your Queen Mary Sports Club by gaining relevant qualifications
• Deliver community engagement initiatives through your QMSU Sports Club
• Make a difference within the local community!

To register interest in the sports employability academy, register with an opportunity on the volunteering portal and log the hours using the volunteering log hours form on the QMSU website. If the opportunity matches the necessary hours these will be counted. Students can get in touch via communityfoundation@qmul.ac.uk to ask whether opportunities meet the criteria if they are unsure, or if they have sourced their own.

• Qualifications
• Accreditations
• Conferences
• Workshops
• Continuous Professional Development Opportunities (CPD)

Students are permitted to mix both paid & unpaid hours, they must ensure hours are being calculated and logged correctly. Students planning to mix both paid and unpaid hours must notify the SEA lead beforehand.

CPD activities such as online workshops may count towards the completion of an academy milestone. However, these workshops must be relevant and approved beforehand by the SEA lead. Online CPD activities will count as 0.5 hours. There are many relevant CPD activities on your premium UKCoaching account!

Students may also shadow sessions from experienced coaches, this will count as 0.5 volunteering hours and attendance must be confirmed by the lead coach.

Both shadowing and online CPD activities together must not make up more than 50% of your volunteering hours at each academy milestone.

Once students have got in touch via communityfoundation@qmul.ac.uk and their goals, time commitments and interests have been established, they will be added to the academy.

Successful entrance into the academy will grant you access to a premium UK Coaching membership for 12 months (see below for sign up process).

New Academy Members must complete 5 hours of mandatory UK Coaching training to suitably prepare them before them for their first practical experiences within the academy.

Mandatory training includes How to Plan, Coach, Reflect (2 hours) and Duty to Care Badge (3 Hours). Once mandatory training has been completed, certification of course completion must be sent to the SEA lead. Upon completion of this students will receive free kit which they can wear when representing the academy.

Once mandatory training has been completed and confirmed by the SEA lead, students can start to log their hours.

By enrolling on the academy students agree to attending an online reflection meeting after each academy milestone.

Mandatory training does not count towards volunteering hours.

Mandatory training links:

• You must be a Queen Mary student enrolled in the 2025-26 academic year
• Applications for reimbursement can only be made once the required number of volunteering hours have been completed and approved by the SEA lead
• Students must get volunteering hours signed off by relevant personnel (e.g., club captain/lead coach) for every academy milestone reached
• You must fully commit to completing your chosen qualification and ensure you are available on all dates requested, including any assessment dates
• Students can claim a maximum of £300 towards sports-based qualifications once per academic year
• Students working with children must hold a valid DBS certificate
• Students working with external organisations must be first aid trained or be in the presence of a first aider for the duration of their volunteering sessions
• Students are not permitted to back date hours worked, but are able to carry over volunteering hours into the next academic year – with permission from the SEA lead
• After an academy milestone has been reached and signed off by the relevant personnel, students may purchase the course of their choice. After proof of purchase has been received by the SEA lead, funds specific to the milestone will be transferred to the students’ bank account (UK Bank Account only)
• Queen Mary Sport reserve the right to ask for a refund of up to 100% of funds given, if the department feels that the funding eligibility criteria has not been met
• Students must complete the relevant online training before hours can be logged (or provide proof of a relevant professional qualification which includes similar training)
• By enrolling on the academy students agree to attending an online reflection meeting after each academy milestone.

Queen Mary University has teamed up with UK Coaching to give you paid for access to the UKCoaching.org Premium Membership service. When you join UK Coaching, you’ll unlock a wide range of exclusive resources, learning and offers designed to help you connect, grow and empower people – from all walks of life.

Subscribe using your unique discount code and you’ll get a full 12 months’ access 100% discounted (instead of the standard price of £36).

What You’ll Get

• Exclusive access to practical resources you can read, watch or download that will help you to:
  • Build rapport
  • Grow abilities
  • Develop mindsets
  • Support differing needs
  • Ensure welfare and safety
  • Organise and plan
• Free access to some of UK Coaching’s online Learn at Home courses, including recordings of the popular Time2Learn webinars.
• Exclusive benefits where you can make huge savings across big name brands such as Under Armour, Decathlon, Apple, Sports Direct and many more!
• Access to specialist support services such as counselling, legal and tax helplines.

For any log in support please contact UK Coaching Club on ukcoachingclub@ukcoaching.org.

Steps to claim:

1. To access to your UK Coaching Membership please register HERE.
2. Claim your access to UK Coaching Premium Club and unlock the secrets of #GreatCoaching by using your unique discount code to get 100% off!
3. Please note: The 100% discount code will be supplied via email to the eligible students by the SEA lead after enrolment in the academy.

How will I log my hours?

Students can log their hours on the QMSU volunteering webpage.

Who can sign off my hours after each milestone?

After each academy milestone, a person(s) present at one of your sessions, or a person of authority within that organisation (e.g., manager/club captain, head coach) confirm you have completed the hours that have been logged.

How can I get my milestones confirmed?

Milestones can be confirmed via an email to the shared inbox confirming the student has completed the claimed number of hours.