26.01.2026 The CARE project (Career Advancement, Resilience & Employability of Sport Coaches), coordinated by Urhea, has officially started. During 2026, the project will work together with its partners to develop practical recommendations and tools to strengthen coaches’ competence, employability, and career sustainability. Project partners include Umeå University (Sweden), Varala Sports Institute, Tampereen Pyrintö, and Labod Bled Skating Club (Slovenia). The project is funded by the Erasmus+ Sport programme. The project builds on a key finding from the JOUVA project, which concludes at the end of January. JOUVA highlighted that one of the main challenges in coaches’ continuous learning is the lack of structured career guidance. The aim of the CARE project is to develop solutions that help coaches strengthen their professional skills, improve employability, and build sustainable career pathways. Within the project, we will explore which solutions and practices best support coaches’ career development and continuous learning. The themes will be examined through both research and practical examples, drawing on the experiences of coaches and sports clubs from different countries. The goal is to build a comprehensive understanding of what coaches need and which structures best support their careers in a changing environment. The knowledge generated through the project will be refined into clear recommendations and practical models that can be used to strengthen coaches’ learning and career progression. These recommendations and models will be made freely available and can be used, for example, by sports clubs to support coaches’ development in a more systematic way. CARE is part of broader European development efforts aimed at strengthening coaches’ competence, employability, and well-being. The project’s international cooperation provides an opportunity to combine experiences from different countries and learn from effective practices that can be applied to the development of the Finnish coaching system. Contact information: Tuomas Rouvali tuomas.rouvali@urhea.fi
