UCEN Manchester become official Education Partner of RL Cares

Rugby League Cares is delighted to announce higher education provider UCEN Manchester as the charity’s official Education Partner.  

UCEN Manchester is the higher education provider of the long-established Manchester College, part of the LTE Group, and has a proven track record in equipping students of all ages with the technical and professional skills demanded of career success.

The partnership will involve the two organisations working closely on a range of projects and initiatives that will enhance the careers and employment opportunities of people across the sport and beyond.

As the official CPD (Continuous Professional Development) partner of RL Cares, UCEN Manchester, which has a proven track record in equipping students of all ages with the technical and professional skills required for career success, will deliver education courses to club player wellbeing managers, the charity’s staff and the wider Rugby League-playing community.

Work will take place to develop and deliver a curriculum of programmes focused on wellbeing that are beneficial to a broad range of commercial and statutory education sectors.

UCEN Manchester will also work, in collaboration with its group partner sister organisation and apprenticeship provider Total People,  which will also become the official Apprenticeships Partner of RL Cares, signposting professional players to appropriate vocational and educational courses run by the college.

The partnership will see the two organisations work with stakeholders across sport, including the Rugby Football League and other governing bodies, to design and deliver a degree-level wellbeing qualification.

The partnership builds on the success RL Cares has enjoyed delivering gold standard welfare and wellbeing support to rugby league players since the charity took on this important role in 2019.

RL Director of Wellbeing Steve McCormack said: “We are delighted to be working alongside colleagues at UCEN Manchester to create and establish an Elite Athlete Wellbeing qualification based on research and best practice.

“This marks a major step forward in the consistent, high-quality delivery of our wellbeing programme, which will ultimately deliver better outcomes for our athletes and their families.

“Through our relationship with UCEN Manchester, we are excited about the prospect of working with other sports.”

Mark Harris, Vice Dean of UCEN Manchester, said: “This is an exciting partnership for UCEN Manchester. We really do value the important work of the charity, and we will continue to are passionate about working with RL Cares to co-design and deliver a high-quality offer, building on our expertise in providing flexible higher level programmes that meet the needs of industry professionals within sport.

“In addition, we are looking forward to providing RL Cares with bespoke professional development programmes, and specialist pathways within counselling and wellbeing to support them to achieve their future ambitions and plans.”

RL Cares will also deliver an annual Offload programme to all UCEN Manchester employees to support their mental wellbeing.

UCEN Manchester and Total People are both part of LTE Group, a family of five education and training providers, working together to help communities gain skills that will grow their earning potential.