Month: February 2017

Porty shares in Land Fund Awards

Communities the length and breadth of Scotland have been given the green light to realise their ambitions to take ownership of and redevelop local land. The Scottish Government’s Scottish Land Fund has awarded 11 projects a total of £2.1 million to allow local groups to purchase land for community ownership.  Continue reading Porty shares in Land Fund Awards

Four million welcomes

Scotland’s historic sites break tourism record

Scotland’s staffed heritage attractions have drawn in more visitors than ever before. Over the last 11 months a record-breaking four million people have flocked to historic sites across the length and breadth of the country – and more than 1.6 million of them visited top attraction Edinburgh Castle.  Continue reading Four million welcomes

Join the Cheyne Gang!

If you have a long term condition that affects your breathing such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), severe asthma orbronchiectasis for example then did you know that singing can have a positive effect on your lung capacity and help you to control your breathing?

The Cheyne Gang is a singing group set up by Practice Nurses based on research that proves the benefits of singing on physical, mental and social health. Our 2 hour sessions are facilitated by a professional voice coach who teaches breathing techniques to help your lung condition and we sing popular songs which you will recognise and which are tailored to your voice and breathing.

Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership is supporting us over the next 6 months with a grant and with this we have been able to move to a more suitable venue.

See our flyer (above) for more details and please feel free to come along to one of our sessions to try it out!

Mininimum wage abuse employers named and shamed

Fifteen Scottish firms are among more than 350 UK companies to have been “named and shamed” by the UK government as national minimum and living wage offenders yesterday. Andthat lenghty list could have been even longer – HMRC is currently investigating more than 1,500 open cases. Continue reading Mininimum wage abuse employers named and shamed

Reach 2 Your Future with a career in sport

Edinburgh Leisure offers employment and training opportunities for young people  

Edinburgh Leisure is reaching out to young people aged 15-24 years, who have a passion for sport to register their interest for a forthcoming ‘2 Your Future Project’, which aims to give young people employment and training opportunities in sport.

Jack Martin, Positive Destinations Project Development Officer at Edinburgh Leisure explained: “The project is a fully funded opportunity that provides a combination of sports based activities and tailored employment support for your people not currently engaged in education, employment or training or young people at high risk of falling into this category.

“We’re looking for young people between 15-24 years, who have a passion for sport and who would be able to commit to the project for up to 16 hours per week over an eight-week project.”

The project will be delivered between March and April 2017 at Gracemount Leisure Centre, but city-wide travel to alternative Edinburgh Leisure venues will be expected over the programme.

‘2 Your Future’ provides a number of opportunities including: sports coaching experience in football and athletics; SCQF Level 4 in Sports Leadership qualifications; quality, structured sports coaching sessions and the opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity; the opportunity to volunteer and experience being part of a major sporting event; Active Start Multi-Skills training; Emergency First Aid at Work training; Positive Coaching Scotland training; advice and guidance on further education and training opportunities; and increased confidence and self-esteem.

One participant rebuilding their lives through ‘2 Your Future’ is Ryan Aird. Ryan suffered an unexplained cardiac arrest in 2012 whilst at Meadowbank Sports Centre and was saved by the quick response of the team at Edinburgh Leisure.

Although he started a Mechanical Engineering course at Heriot Watt University in 2013, he dropped out after a year in 2014, before finally starting a ‘2 Your Future’ course last summer. He is now employed as a freelance sports leaders course tutor, helping groups of young people learn new skills for the job market, using the power of sport.

“The confidence I have gained from participating in ‘2 Your Future’ has been immense,” said Ryan. “It’s given me a totally different career path than the one I originally embarked on when I started at university.  Through sport I have managed to transform my life and hope that I can go on to inspire and motivate others to personally develop and transform their lives too.”

Prospective candidates for the next ‘2 Your Future’ course are asked to register their interest by filling in the project’s registration form available on the Edinburgh Leisure website and return the form by Thursday 2nd March.

All those who register their interest will be invited to attend an Information Day on Friday, 3 March from 10am-2pm, where they will get a full project overview, meet the ‘2 Your Future’ tutors; and take part in a discussion with the tutors on their suitability to gain a place on the project.

For further information about the project, please contact: Jack Martin, Positive Destinations Project Development Officer – jackmartin@edinburghleisure.co.uk