SPIRIT TRAINING
Skills Academy (NSA) provider, with access to government funding to deliver apprenticeship programmes. In 2010, it began supporting the NSA to deliver gym instructor qualifications to young people gaining work experience on the Future Jobs Fund. Spirit currently has four UK-based
I
Centres of Excellence from which it delivers training to both internal and external candidates. “Spirit employs close to 300 employees, all of who receive continual training. In addition, we have delivered training to around 350 external candidates so far this year,” says Mark Mantell, health and fi tness operations manager UK & Ireland. “All our qualifi cations are accredited by awarding organisations and recognised across the industry. “Our training caters for the full
Spirit currently has four UK-based Centres of Excellence from which it delivers training
years, it might take fi ve, but eventually you won’t get an interview for a job in leisure, sport, health and fi tness unless you have a passport containing all your qualifi cations. “Everyone will know exactly what their training plan is and there’ll be a standard
spectrum of candidates – from entry level to experienced professionals looking to move into personal training, management or develop a speciality – and we offer the full range of fi tness qualifi cations up to Level 3, statutory training including Lifeguard and First
set of qualifi cations across the industry – and an open, competitive marketplace for training providers.” Neil King, commercial director of
Everyone Active, adds: “Four or fi ve years ago, I don’t think many operators had really got to grips with the skills agenda, and fortunately the training providers picked up the baton and ran with it. But I think employers are now realising what their role should be in the process and SPELG has come into its own, looking at the bigger picture from an employers’ point of view.”
AN OPEN MARKETPLACE
Mbodies says its pilates-based
courses go beyond government standards
november/december 2011 © cybertrek 2011
Sesnan is clearly not alone in his observations regarding the shortfalls of certain qualifications, and many operators will no doubt already be experienced in training their staff – not only in their company’s ethos and way of doing things, but at times even in the fundamentals of working in the leisure sector. Might this go a step further with the advent of an “open, competitive marketplace”, with operators branching more overtly into full-scale training provision? In fact, there are already a number of
operators with a training arm that goes well beyond CPD, delivering a full range
n 2009, Spirit became the only health club operator to be awarded the status of National
Aid, through to a fully accredited Leisure Management certifi cate. “Operators are, in theory, better
positioned to gain fi rst-hand insight into the changing needs of a busy health club operation, and to evolve their training provision accordingly – all our training has been formulated from, and adapts to, real and practical needs. “It’s also possible to offset internal
training costs through external revenue generation and even achieve a cost-neutral model: Spirit achieved this within the fi rst 12 months. “In addition, the benefi t for
operators of becoming training providers is that the training resource is readily available: it can be mobilised at any time if there’s an internal training need. “However, as a club operator, the
provision of training is not our primary or core business. Our philosophy is therefore about quality delivery within a self-funding model, rather than a ‘for profi t’-only operation.” He concludes with a word of
caution: “If you are fully reliant on government-funded training, this could be a potential risk if government policy changes in this area.”
of industry qualifi cations (see information boxes above, left and p43). GLL is among these, with its London Leisure College – a National Skills Academy Centre of Excellence for leisure operations, which is involved in initiatives such as Routes to Work for school leavers, as well as schemes for Jobcentre Plus. “Whether it’s private training
companies or employer training companies, it doesn’t matter, as long as they’re all working to the same rigorous, accredited standards,” says Sesnan, acknowledging that some operators may start out on this path in co-operation with a specialist training provider.
OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
So what makes operators good training providers, and what – aside from the obvious revenue potential of offering qualifications to external candidates – are the benefits to operators of developing their own training arm? Gary Lee, sector support manager
for SkillsActive, explains: “Employers drive the vocational skills agenda. They have the best understanding of the skills, knowledge and competencies their businesses need. They are therefore best placed to shape and prioritise the training their staff receive.
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 41
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