More apprentices will be offered a route into the sports and leisure industry following a decision by Fusion Lifestyle to grow its programme from 150 to 500 over the next three years.

The latest figures from the Department for Education figures show the number of new apprentices in England fell by 59 per cent in the three months to the end of the July, despite the government's plan to start three million new apprenticeships across UK industry by 2020.

However, Fusion Lifestyle is aiming to buck the trend by growing its annual apprenticeship programme in partnership with sports and leisure industry training provider ICON Training, as it looks to boost employee engagement and retention.

The scheme, titled Fusion500, offers apprentices a career pathway using the Leisure Professional Apprenticeship from Level 2 through to Level 7, encouraging members of staff to become managers and leaders.

“The support and development of staff will also ensure our customers receive consistently high levels of care, support and knowledge from every team member, which is important for customer satisfaction and community engagement,” said James Duncan, learning and development manager at Fusion Lifestyle.

ICON director Gary Denton added: “Most providers in the sport and leisure sector offer either purely vocational skills or business, management and leadership development but this programme combines the practical teaching and knowledge elements in one course, creating a multi-skilled, commercially focused frontline workforce.”

The Apprenticeship Levy, which came into effect in April, requires all employers with an annual wage bill of over £3m (US$4m, €3.4m) to pay into an apprenticeship funding account.