At the helm: Sean Holt is intent on building a powerful and respected organisation
“IT'S THE FIRST TIME IT'S BEEN PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED THAT WE'RE A SECTOR COMMITTED TO RAISING STANDARDS IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE”
Holt, “a terrific working relationship”. The decision not to hold elections for a permanent board immediately, he adds, is to ensure business continu- ity, but they’re expected to take place within two years.
A major boon to Holt’s campaign to encourage the sector – and the wider population – to look favoura- bly on the new organisation is how quickly it achieved chartership. But although it may seem as if this hap- pened overnight, representatives from both ISRM and ISPAL had in fact been working on the application for over two years before it was granted – persua- sive evidence of Holt’s assertion that the former rivals can work effectively together. The backing of sports min- ister Hugh Robertson smoothed the application’s passage, with the result that chartered status was awarded as soon as the new institute was formed.
RAISING STANDARDS Holt is clearly very proud of this achievement, but is even more enthu- siastic about what it means for the wider industry. “The Royal Privy Council is probably the highest authority in the
ISSUE 4 2011 © cybertrek 2011
land. Gaining chartered status really gives recognition to the sport and physical activity sector and demon- strates that the government does take our profession seriously… it’s the first time it’s been publicly acknowledged that we’re a sector committed to rais- ing standards in professional practice. I think that’s very important.” While Holt is hopeful that the char- tership will help attract more quality people into the physical activity sector – as well as encouraging those already in it to raise their game – he recog- nises that the accreditation needs to be backed up by training, education and continuing professional devel- opment (CPD) programmes before a sports career gains the same kudos as other chartered professions, such as business or accountancy. With this in mind, IMSPA has
already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SkillsActive (the Sector Skills Council for sports and physical activity) to support the production of an employer skills protocol for the profession. The part- nership was facilitated by the Skills Protocol Employer Leadership Group
(SPELG), which includes representa- tives from the Sports and Recreation Trust Association (sporta), the Fitness Industry Association (FIA), the Chief Leisure Officers Association (CLOA) and the Leisure Management Contractors Association (LMCA). Aims include – but are not limited to – the creation of national occupational standards for all occupations covered by IMSPA membership and the estab- lishment of a single qualifications framework for the same occupations. When it comes to who will and won’t qualify for chartership, Holt is positive but pragmatic. “I’d love everyone to be chartered, but clearly that’s not going to be the reality,” he says. “But by cre- ating different levels of membership [there are nine membership catego- ries from student member through to chartered member], what we want to demonstrate is that there’s a clear pathway for people coming into the profession and should they wish to progress to chartership level… the institute can facilitate that.” Holt is reluctant to put a figure on how many of its existing 6,000 mem- bers might qualify immediately for
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