By Ryan Smith
Ryerson University has partnered with the Toronto Sport Leadership Program (TSLP) and will now be offering first-year students free certifications for various skills such as coaching, refereeing and lifeguarding.
The TSLP is a local organization dedicated to providing skills and credentials to help secondary students gain employment with youth sports-based programs in the city.
Founded in response to 2005’s Summer of the Gun, which was said to correlate with youth unemployment, the TSLP has been providing “at-risk” youth with resources that encourage them to make positive life choices and stay in school.
Ryerson joins the growing list of employers as the university has committed 40 jobs for graduates of the program at the newly opened Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC). However, only 50 of the total 300 spots are available to first-year Ryerson students.
Jeffrey Chan, a first-year computer science student, found out about the TSLP through Ryerson’s Tri-Mentoring program. He sees it as a chance to get active and make some money at the same time.
“I don’t want to be stuck on a computer or in a chair or [confined] to a cubicle,” he says. “I like the program because it helps with my financial needs and I get to learn new things. I’m looking forward to skiing most, weather permitting.”
The program boasts more than 800 graduates, with 75 per cent of its graduates having been hired at camps, pools, and sports programs with the City of Toronto and the YMCA.
Courses will take place at different locations around the city including the MAC, and as part of the program, transportation can be arranged for participants at no cost.
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