Community Sport and Health Officer Apprentice

The apprentice will support the Mending Lines team across our Alternative Provision and wider community programmes.

They will help deliver angling, sport and outdoor activities for young people, including those who may struggle within mainstream education or need additional support. They will also support activities for families, veterans and other members of the local community.

Day-to-day duties will include:

• Supporting sessions within our Alternative Provision
• Helping young people engage in angling and outdoor learning
• Encouraging confidence, teamwork and positive behaviour
• Supporting young people with different needs and abilities
• Helping plan and deliver community activities and events
• Setting up, checking and safely storing equipment
• Building positive relationships with young people and participants
• Helping collect feedback and record participation and outcomes
• Promoting activities through social media and local networks
• Following safeguarding, health and safety and risk assessment procedures
• Completing training and coursework towards the Level 3 Community Sport and Health Officer apprenticeship

The role will involve working outdoors in different weather conditions. Some evening or weekend work may occasionally be required for community sessions and events.

This apprenticeship is part-funded and supported by Coach Core's charitable programme, creating employment opportunities for 16–24-year-olds who have faced barriers to education, employment or career progression. We support young people with the potential to succeed who may have experienced financial disadvantage, additional learning needs, caring responsibilities or other personal or socio-economic challenges.

No previous experience is required – we're looking for enthusiasm, potential and a willingness to learn. Coach Core provides additional support throughout the apprenticeship, while the employer is responsible for the final recruitment decision.

You will be working towards a Community Health and Safety Officer Level 3 apprenticeship over the duration of 18 months.

The apprentice will gain a Level 3 Community Sport and Health Officer qualification alongside practical experience in alternative provision, community engagement, angling and outdoor education.

There may be opportunities to complete further training in areas such as angling coaching, safeguarding, first aid and mental health. Depending on performance and future vacancies, there may also be an opportunity to continue working with Mending Lines after completing the apprenticeship.

This is a practical, outdoor role and the apprentice will be expected to work outside in different weather conditions. The role involves working near water, handling fishing equipment, bait and fish, and helping to set up and pack away equipment.

Some young people attending our Alternative Provision may have additional needs or display challenging behaviour, so patience, resilience and consistency are important.

Our main venue is in a rural location, so the successful applicant will need to be able to travel to the site reliably. Occasional evening or weekend work may also be required for community sessions and events.

Mending Lines began with one man, one rod and a hard year — and a simple belief that the bank can give people back a bit of themselves. This is how a personal lifeline became a community.

When our founder, Chris Parker, was struggling with his own mental health, fishing became the thing he could hold onto. Quiet hours by the water gave him routine, headspace and a reason to keep going when things felt heavy.

Over time he realised the calm he'd found wasn't just luck — it was something that could be shared. Mending Lines grew straight out of that experience: a way to hand the same lifeline to young people and adults who need it most.