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REPs structure crucial as industry evolves

New framework is vital to help meet the requirements of a growing sector

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The money will help provide an additional 1,500 sports coaches

£1m funding for Welsh coaching

Cash boost to complement existing investment levels

By Pete Hayman

An additional £1m will be invested each year to help improve the standard of sports coaching across Wales, under plans revealed by heritage minister Alun Ffred Jones. The funding aims to provide

an extra 1,500 coaches and will complement the £1.4m spent on coaching development by the Welsh Assembly Govern- ment through Sport Wales. According to Jones, the

additional £1m will go towards new multi-sport coaches at community level in areas of

high demand and training for coaches in disadvantaged areas. A mentoring initiative for

talented and high performance coaches and a talent develop- ment programme for young people are also included among the spending plans. Jones said: "The extra

funding will be invested to recruit, train and support more community coaches and to develop our talented coaches at the regional and national level." Sport Wales chair Pofessor

Laura McAllister added: "We need to have more coaches available at all levels of sport."

New standards to help tackle crime

New standards, which are designed to help tackle crime, have been unveiled by SkillsActive and Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. The National Occupational

Standards – funded by the foundation – outline best practice for using sport to develop new accredited training programmes. The Level 2 standards have

been developed following a three-year Active Communi-

© Cybertrek 2010

ties Network project to look at how sport engages young people involved in crime. SkillsActive chief executive

Stephen Studd said: "We know that participation in sport can reduce youth crime and anti-social behaviour, so to now be able to provide clear standards on how coaches, volunteers and managers in our community can use sport to tackle crime is fantastic."

ince its inception in 2002, the fitness industry has embraced the Register of Exercise Professionals

(REPs); in fact there are now over 28,000 individual members on the Register. The growth rate has been outstanding; however, those of us that have been around since the beginning know that it was never going to be an easy ride. With that said, the industry wanted to become self-regulated and, as a result, REPs was launched. But that was eight years ago, and the

industry looks very different in 2010. Most noticeably, we have so many more people wanting to work in the industry and there has been a real shift in perception of the industry – working in fitness is now seen as a viable professional career option with attainable pathways and progression routes. Over the past 18 months, a team from SkillsActive and REPs

STEPHEN STUDD is chief executive at SkillsActive.

have travelled round the UK meeting with employers, training providers, awarding bodies and instructors, to review, revise and update the Register's structure so that it better reflects the working practices within the fitness industry. The new structure for REPs went live in April 2010 and, so

far, has been met positively. But what does it mean in real terms? Firstly, the new structure won't affect any existing REPs members; their status will remain the same until they re-register. However, it has opened up a number of opportunities developed to inspire members to their next level. Awarding bodies and training providers have had to review

their provision of courses to meet the new national standards which underpin the 2010 REPs structure – this has taken into consideration new standards at Level 4, working with special populations and looking to work with the health sector. In real terms it will take time for the new structure to filter

through into everyday life. Qualifications have to be developed, approved, and then offered. Courses have to be taken and finished, and members then have to update the team at the Register. It may seem a lengthy exercise, but as the fitness industry evolves and cements its role in shaping the health of the nation, this new structure provides the clarity it needs. It's our role to ensure the industry has more people, better

qualified and better skilled working in it. The new REPs structure reflects this on behalf of the sector, and ensures that people will see fitness professionals for just that – professional, educated and knowledgeable experts in their field.

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