Eight young carers are being given the opportunity to become qualified swimming teachers through a special collaboration between STA, CoursePro, MYTIME Young Carers and Individuality Swimming & Training.

The charitable initiative forms part of STA’s Ripple Effect campaign, which creates fully funded pathways into swimming teaching for people who may otherwise face barriers to accessing training.

Through support from CoursePro, MYTIME Young Carers and Individuality Swimming & Training, eight young carers will complete STA’s Swimming Teacher Qualification (STQ), giving them the opportunity to gain a professional qualification and take an important first step towards a career in aquatics.

Recognising the additional responsibilities young carers can have at home, the programme has deliberately not been organised in the traditional way. Instead, the training has been structured flexibly around the participants and their individual caring responsibilities, helping to make the opportunity genuinely accessible.

The first three young carers will begin their training this October half-term on a course delivered by Individuality Training, with the remaining five already selected to complete their training in early 2027.

Zoe Cooper, Commercial Director at STA, said: “This is exactly what we hoped The Ripple Effect would achieve – organisations coming together to remove barriers and create opportunities that can have a lasting impact.

“For young carers, accessing training isn’t always straightforward, so this project is about more than funding a qualification. It’s about creating a pathway that works around their lives and gives eight young people the opportunity to gain a professional qualification and start a rewarding career in aquatics.”

Alan O’Riordan, Managing Director at CoursePro, said: “We work with swim schools every day, and we wanted to give something back to a community we’re proud to be part of.
“Supporting STA and The Ripple Effect gives us the opportunity to help eight young carers gain a professional qualification and explore a career in swimming teaching, with training that fits around their caring responsibilities. We’re delighted to be playing a part in making that possible.”

Krista Cartlidge, CEO of MYTIME Young Carers, said: “Young carers develop an extraordinary range of skills through their caring roles, but their circumstances can also create additional barriers when it comes to education, training and employment.

“What makes this opportunity so special is that the flexibility has been built in from the outset. Rather than expecting the young carers to fit around a conventional training model, the programme recognises their individual circumstances and responsibilities. We’re delighted that eight of our young carers will now have this opportunity.”

Kristin Maguire, Director at Individuality Swimming & Training, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming the first three young carers onto the course this October. One of the key benefits of STA’s STQ is its blended-learning approach, which gives learners greater flexibility over when and where they complete elements of their training.

“For young carers, that flexibility is especially important. We can work with them around their caring responsibilities, while still providing the practical training and support they need to become confident, qualified swimming teachers. It’s fantastic to be part of a project that is making a career in swimming teaching genuinely accessible to them. We are very excited to be working with all 3 partners on such a fantastic project.”

The initiative is the latest project to be delivered through The Ripple Effect, STA’s charitable campaign designed to widen access to careers in swimming teaching while helping address workforce challenges across the aquatics sector.