SCL Group Collaborates With Kitman Labs to Redefine Its Performance Apprenticeships Through Data and Technology

SCL integrates Kitman Labs’ elite performance technology into its apprenticeships, empowering thousands of UK learners to train on the same system used by the world’s top sports organisations.

SCL Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of education and skills programmes for the sport and creative industries, has announced a new collaboration with Kitman Labs, the global leader in performance intelligence technology.

The collaboration will see Kitman Labs’ Intelligence Platform (iP), integrated into SCL’s apprenticeship programmes; a move set to revolutionise the way Sport Performance apprenticeships are delivered across the UK.

At its core, this relationship strengthens SCL’s commitment to data-driven, human-focused development – combining factual, evidence-based decision making with mentors who understand learners’ experiences and help them engage with data with confidence and ease. By integrating use of this technology into its apprenticeship programme, SCL is giving its learners a unique competitive edge and an opportunity to work with the real-world data and analytics generated from within their own Academy programmes; empowering them to produce performance insights and intelligence as part of their daily studies and enrichment, while leveraging elite level data capabilities in the classroom.

“Data and technology of this calibre have historically been reserved for top-tier professional environments,” said Adrian Fantham, Chief Financial Officer, SCL Group. “By building these systems into our pathways, we’re democratising access to world-class performance analysis and unlocking human potential. It sets a new benchmark for what an apprenticeship can and should be.”

“This collaboration with Kitman Labs sets a new standard for elite sport apprenticeships. By embedding world-class performance technology into our programmes, we’re redefining what excellence looks like in education and setting a new market standard,” said Brad Rushton, Chief Education Officer, SCL Group. “It directly supports our growth ambitions as a Group and, crucially, delivers an unbeatable experience for SCL College learners giving them daily access to the same technology, insights and expectations found at the very top of elite sport.”

This collaboration marks a significant step in bridging the gap between elite sport and education. By embedding data analytics and performance tracking into the curriculum, SCL aims to prepare apprentices for careers not only in sport but in the wider data-driven industries of the future.

The integration of Kitman Labs’ platform will enable data-driven decision making with a human focused approach, empowering 16–18-year-olds to unlock their true potential within elite sport. Learners will be able to capture and analyse performance data in real time, track progression and build individual development plans to support  personal progression, health and performance for SCL Academy Students.

The relationship supports SCL’s mission to prepare learners for future roles across elite sport, performance analysis, media and marketing, and coaching and teaching pathways; industries that are increasingly powered by data and digital innovation.

This marks a first for UK education, bringing elite-level performance intelligence into the classroom in a way that has never been done before. For 16-18-year-olds outside of professional club environments, this level of analysis hasn’t been accessible until now. By embedding the same world-class platform used by the world’s top sports organisations directly into its programmes, SCL is elevating its proposition and creating a unique environment where learners can experience, understand and apply elite-level performance as part of their everyday development.

“SCL’s scale, reach and progressive approach to integrating technology into education make this collaboration incredibly impactful,” said Stephen Smith, Founder and CEO, Kitman Labs. “Together, we’re helping prepare thousands of future professionals to understand and apply performance data effectively – using insights from their own development journeys. It’s about building a new generation of data-literate talent for the future of sport.”

This transformation within SCL’s Skills division will bring significant benefit to the wider SCL College community; bringing elite intelligence to the classroom, creating new roles and opportunities for learners and embedding real-world experience and job creation within the SCL ecosystem.

With its learner-centred ethos and national footprint, SCL is setting a new standard in how education connects to real-world performance environments. The addition of Kitman Labs’ technology extends that commitment, ensuring every learner has access to tools, insights and experiences once reserved for elite-level performance and practitioners.

Kitman Labs provides technology and analytics tools only. All data used within the apprenticeship environment is collected and controlled by SCL in accordance with SCL’s learner privacy notices and applicable data protection law. Access to the Kitman Labs platform for this initiative is limited to the SCL-configured environment and curriculum-specific datasets.