Skills & employability

Our action & impact

Developing transferable life skills and pathways to employment or education

Qualifications, pathways, and hands on learning experiences in marine and outdoor sectors
In line with our vision, everything we do is driven by our belief that all young people can excel and succeed in life and work. We use watersports to build personal skills, promote employability, and develop young people for life and careers.

Why we’re focusing in this area

Young people lack access to structured opportunities that build real-life and employability skills.

Many young people aren’t gaining the personal development and soft skills (e.g. resilience, teamwork, confidence) needed to succeed in education or work. According to Sport England, only 34% of young people strongly agree that they persist when faced with difficulty- a key individual development metric.

A large proportion of children and young people are not meeting physical activity guidelines

Only 47.8% of children and young people in England meet the recommended 60 minutes of daily activity. This is especially true for those with multiple inequalities (e.g. ethnicity, low affluence), who are least likely to be active and to report positive attitudes to sport.

Traditional education pathways are not working for everyone, particularly those from less affluent backgrounds

Children from the least affluent families are significantly less active (45% vs 57% of most affluent) and are under-represented in volunteering and positive development opportunities.

Our action

The STT and the Diploma respond by offering hands-on learning and vocational qualifications in maritime and outdoor sectors, helping young people develop transferable life and career skills.

Our action:

Our Portsmouth centre uses watersports as a tool to re-engage inactive young people, encouraging physical literacy, wellbeing, and sustained participation.

Our action

The Foundation provides alternative routes to achievement like the STT programme and Diploma built on practical, inclusive, and motivating experiences that open up access to further education, training, and jobs.

What we’re doing about it

Our objective is to advance the education, development and improvement of young people, through sailing programmes to develop their skills, capacities and capabilities to enable them to participate in society as independent, mature and responsible citizens.

Access to training & development

521

521 individuals attended instructor training or development courses (e.g. RYA certifications) through our programmes in 2024 – an increase of 23% from the year before.

Increasing soft-skills in participants

70%

Participants reported an increase in soft-skills, with 70% reporting an increase in teamwork skills, and 67% reporting an increase in communication skills.

Work-experience opportunities

5162

From 2024-25, we facilitated 5162 work experience hours through a range of Andrew Simpson Foundation initiatives at our centres.

What we’re working towards

Target 1: Improved progress into employment or education

Participants progress into employment, further education, or volunteering within 6 months of programme completion.

Target 2: Workplace preparation for young people

Youth participants feel more prepared for the workplace after engagement

How our Young Leaders Programme helped turn sailor into instructor

From learning to sail at age 7 to becoming a qualified RYA Dinghy Instructor, Lewis’s journey through the Young Leaders programme shows how sailing can build confidence, skills, and a clear path into instructing and beyond.

Watch Lewis’s story

Partnership opportunities

We collaborate with schools, trusts, training bodies, and local authorities to deliver our employability mission. From diploma delivery to instructor placements, our partnerships help us expand opportunity where it’s needed most.

Find out how to get involved