SkillsActive has submitted its business plan to the Learning and Skills Council, for the development of a National Skills Academy (NSA) for Sport and Active Leisure.

When launched, the skills academy aims to improve training provision for the sector and has so far raised more than £5.8m of funding in order to open centres of excellence for sport and fitness training.

The plans submitted to the skills council include details of how the development of the NSA will move forward, the infrastructure and investment needed and the content and information required.

It details key fundamentals and a plan of action for ensuring career and job information is up-to-date and thorough, qualifications and training information is comprehensive and how the National Occupational Standards will underpin the whole project.

The four key issues the business plan focuses are: employer buy in, which will form the customer base of the skills academy; training provider buy-in, the delivery network for the skills academy; learner numbers, the more people who use the skills academy, the more sustainable it becomes; and capital investment, the opportunity to leverage public investment.

Florence Orban, project director for the NSA, said the initiative will bring cohesion to the way the sector takes care of its training needs.

She said: “National governing bodies of sport, national fitness chains and leisure trusts are keen to see the NSA address the confusion and fragmentation in the training landscape that are so pervasive to the sector.”

One of the main features of the skills academy is the suite of qualifications it will support. Details of apprenticeships, foundation degrees, specific NVQs at Levels 2, 3 and 4 and other sector specific diplomas and certificates will be listed within the skills academy.

Users will be able to find out the components of each, how they relate to a job or career and the best provider available to them in their area.

Three of the nine regional centres in England are due to open in September 2008. The first will open in London, initially at Crystal Palace in 2008, before moving into the London 2012 Olympic Stadium immediately after the Games.

The other centres will be located at Sheffield United FC and COMET (Centre for Outdoor Management, Education and Training) in Penrith.

Each regional management group has prepared a business plan which feeds into the overall business plan.

The groups are made up of leading stakeholders including employers, training providers, the Learning and Skills Council, Regional Development Agencies, Sport England or the Regional Sports Board and sports coach UK.