Free Horse Courses

[Kelly Marks]

I was asked to publicise this Government sponsored course and it seems a good thing:-

BHS Level 2 Work based Diploma in Horse Care. It is entirely free to anyone aged 19+ with qualifications no higher than GCSE level. We are targeting this course at women who are not in Employment, Education or Training. The program is all practical and can be delivered via distance learning if needed therefore location is not a problem as long as they are in England.

There are no riding units and you do not need to own a horse, just have access to one. If you visit my website at: www.1st2achieve.co.uk you will find copies of our Inspection Reports which have branded us as “First Class” also copies of our Insurance. 10% of profits from this course will be donated to the Riding for the Disabled.

[wills]

If it's distance learning why can't it be offered to Scotland as well

[Standardbred]

Confused dot com
'We are targeting this course at women who are not in Employment, Education or Training.'
Yet the website says:
'This is a practical horse based course which will allow you to work in the industry while training.'

It appears that you can't do this course with your own horse without being 'employed' in the equestrian trade

[Kelly Marks]

From Georgia of the organisation:-

Thank you for your help. I understand it is confusing but I will try and break it down further:

Why is it FREE?
Think of us as a College, we get money from the government to pay for the course and tuition fee's in the same way a college does. The amount of money the government give us usually allows us to make approx 15% profit on each learner. We will donate 10% of this profit to the RDA to ensure that groups flourish and continue to grow.


Why do you give the money away?
All our staff are involved with the RDA, either as volunteers or run RDA groups, and work with disabled children daily. The RDA is a charity and need the money to continue its work, we are in a position to help!


Why do you get the funding?
The government has provided us with this money so that we can target adults with little or no qualifications. This is high on their agenda, as is sport, with the impending Olympics. As Equine is the fastest growing sport they want to get involved and be seen to promote the sport to the 'common man'.


Who will get the funding from the government?
Anyone who did not achieve either A-Level's, a Degree, Foundation Degree or a National Diploma at college or 6th Form. Qualifications obtained privately such as the traditional BHS programs are, as far as the government is concerned, not proper qualifications. Therefore, someone with a Stage 4 BHS qualification but who only achieved GCSE's at school would qualify for the funding, and the Diploma would be free.


What is the Course?
It is the British Horse Society Level 2 Work based Diploma in Horse Care.


How is the course delivered?
We visit people wherever they have access to a horse. The course is all practical. Learners work with their personal tutor to develop existing skills or learn new ones for example; loading techniques, dealing with inappropriate equine behavior, field management, looking after tack etc.


Do you have anything for youngsters?
Yes we run an Equine Apprenticeship program for anyone aged 16-18. This is a purely practical program, learners do not attend college but have a personal tutor to support and guide them in their workplace. Again, this qualification is funded by the government and is free.


Regarding the Apprenticeship program, would you be willing to provide us with a quote aimed at yard owners to encourage them to offer apprenticeship placements? If you are unsure of what to write I am happy to put something together for your approval or amendment. Please see the attachment document, this is where any quote you gave us would go. As you will see, we already have the support from Oliver Townened, for which we are humbly and eternally grateful!

A lot of the youngsters we work with come from the Princes Trust and we are in desperate need for placements and are grateful for any help you could give us!

[georgiamassey]

Hello Guys,

This is Georgia, I am the person who asked Kelly to post details of our programs.

To answer some of your questions:

We have two types of Equine Programs, both are practical courses:

1) The British Horse Society (BHS) Work Based Diploma in Horse Care Level 2

2) The Equine Apprenticeship program, incorporating the BHS Work based diploma in Horse Care Level 2


The Work based diploma is available to anyone! However, it is completely FREE for anyone who only have GCSE or Level 1 qualifications. This is because it is funded by the government. If you have a BHS or other privately gained qualification you may still be eligible for government funding. Contact us, we sort out the funding arrangements. For those of you with higher qualification such as National Diploma's and degrees you could fund this program privately.

You can work toward and achieve the Diploma using your own horse, you do not have to be employed in the industry (unless you want to take it as part of an Apprenticeship program)!



The Equine Apprenticeship program is for anyone working in the industry, who is aged 16-24 and only have GCSE's, AS levels or Level 1 qualifications

Unlike Colleges, we donate profit to Riding for the Disabled to enable them to carry on the excellent and life changing work they do. We also support them with our volunteering work and the riding groups we run.

We are a specialist vocational training provider (or as some know it; Work Based Learning). Our staff are all fully trained lecturer's and have worked at colleges such as Reaseheath & Rodbaston College and are also qualified riding instructors.

Scotland at times are their own worst enemy; because they have their own qualification and funding system we cannot offer our courses to those living in Scotland. However, if you wanted to pay privately for the program, we could accommodate.

Distance Learning: As our courses are practical programs; you can utilize distance learning techniques such as on-line 'live' tutorial's with your personal program manager for help and support. However, assessments are conducted via practical observations. Please don't be alarmed they are non obtrusive, and actually a pleasant and helpful experience.

If you have any further questions; I have attached a leaflet to this feed or please feel free to call me on 077 901 96 247 alternatively email: [e-mail]

Attachments:

[georgiamassey]

I should add that we decided to run and develop our Equine courses to make money for the Riding for the Disabled!

We did so because we are all involved in the RDA. Some of us are volunteers, some of us have our own RDA groups and work with disabled children weekly. The RDA is a charity and depend upon contributions to continue the work that they do and to grow across the UK.

If anyone would like to get involved in volunteering opportunities with the RDA, please call or email [e-mail] 077901 96 247

It can be a really cool and pleasurable thing to do. For example we are volunteering at the RDA National Championships at Hartpury College, 9-10th July, please come if you can. Other events include: manning a stand at Horse of the Year Show, Parelli (oops!), Your Horse Live, help perform demonstrations at Blenheim etc. Whatever your involvement; you make great friends, meet inspirational people every day and will never regret it! One person really can make a difference.

Georgia