TALKBACK everyone’s talking about . . .
hiring graduates P
ortugal has introduced a new law requiring health clubs to employ only sports science graduates. The
same is true in Catalonia, Spain. With the UK health and fi tness industry eyeing up integration with the wider healthcare sector and the NHS, is now the time for operators here to be asking the same of their recruits? Budget chain The Gym Group
already asks for REPs Level 3 as standard and many recruits have a degree, while David Lloyd Leisure also routinely employs graduates, believing they are well motivated and stay for longer in the job, thereby boosting
retention. Meanwhile all PTs at The Third Space in London are sports science graduates (see p28). There are many tasks required of
fi tness instructors that don’t require a degree, but could having this level of education be an advantage? Would graduates, with their in-depth knowledge, provide even better support and motivation to members? If the industry does go down the
healthcare route, the responsibilities will get more complicated; a high level of technical knowledge will be required to work with members with chronic conditions, to deliver post-op rehab and to deal with clinicians.
hans muench ihrsa • director of europe
“T
his wasn’t regarded as a friendly law for Portugese health clubs.
The industry originally fell foul of the Portugese government when the VAT was reduced but club prices didn’t drop accordingly; since then, there have been a number of unfriendly laws and practices, including fiscal and doping controls. The industry fought this legislation
as it goes against current practice and trends, restricting the operating practices of club operators as well as non-university education providers. It doesn’t reflect learning other than university learning and, unless university courses are linked to commercial clubs’ operational realities, recruits may come up short on the practical side. Personnel costs will also increase. Clubs will have to put their prices up, which could result
in some going out of business. In theory, this could mean service and retention will improve, but that’s working on the assumption that graduates always provide better service, which isn’t necessarily the case. Indeed, it could mean that basic training and supervision on the gym floor becomes more expensive, with members required to pay for the expertise of the instructors through personal training.
” 26
kath hudson • journalist • health club management
It’s now the law in Portugal that fitness instructors must have a sports science degree. Would following this example in the UK mean better service and retention or simply higher costs?
But do graduates provide better
service? Are the skills needed for the job – people skills, for example – always taught at university? And how would employing
graduates affect the bottom line? Would clubs be forced to hike membership fees or charge for advice that might otherwise have been offered as part of the membership? It’s currently standard for the industry
to pay graduates the same as non- graduates, but does this encourage the best candidates to choose other sectors, or at least focus exclusively on PT where they have the potential to earn decent money? We ask the experts.
SHOULD WE BE EMPLOYING MORE SPORTS SCIENCE GRADUATES? EMAIL US:
HEALTHCLUB@LEISUREMEDIA.COM
nick burrows nuffield health fitness and wellbeing • managing director
“T
his debate is right at the heart of Nuffield’s strategy. Our brand is
all about delivering health improvements and we have to make sure our credentials match that, so we actively solicit applicants from universities and run ground-breaking internal training. Because of our credentials in medicine and physiology, through our association
with Nuffield Hospitals, what we demand is a few notches higher than what is typical in the industry. For example, our wellbeing advisors need to be able to take blood and interpret clinical data. We also employ physiologists, physiotherapists and have visits from doctors and other health specialists. Being a registered charity allows us to offer this level of service. Whether or not the industry should be employing more
sports science graduates depends on the key customer group that clubs are trying to attract. For Nuffield it’s extremely important, because our members – the ‘consciously well’ – want to actively manage their health and find out if it is improving. This isn’t the case for all operators. For those who are appealing to a younger demographic, primarily concerned with appearance, it may not be such a priority.
” Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital november/december 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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