MAY 11 LETTERS write to reply


Do you have a strong opinion or disagree with somebody else’s views on the industry? If so, we’d love to hear from you – email: healthclub@leisuremedia.com


in-house or external, clubs must invest in staff training It was encouraging to read your thoughts in ‘seize the day’ (HCM March 11, p3). We believe there are vast


opportunities for fitness professionals to enhance their skill sets and support the demands of an increasingly diverse member base. We also share your view on the importance of employers investing in staff training, both to ensure that the best service and experience is given to members, and to gain the confidence of government and the medical sector – for example, via specialist Level 4 courses. Recently, a number of employers have


Operators speak of the virtue of education yet training remains a low priority


invest in human resources to reach our full potential


I was interested to read your editor’s letter on staff training (HCM March 11, p3). In 2011, our industry has been deluged by a tsunami of educational opportunities and courses. While this can be – and I believe is – a good thing for our sector, it strikes me as slightly hypocritical that operators speak of the virtue of education, yet training remains some way down their list of priorities. This reluctance to invest in training,


and therefore in employees, is part of what lies at the centre of the vicious circle you described. Ours is a soft skills service industry, yet it seems that the essential skill sets our industry requires are the very same skills that we invest the least in. In speaking to club owners and managers, it’s interesting to learn what percentage of their yearly budget is allocated to staff training and incentive/commission programmes: hardly anything.


6 Sadly, in many instances, ongoing


training and education becomes the responsibility of the employee, giving up their own time and money. And yet they receive little reward: ironically these better-trained, more highly qualified employees, who provide a higher quality and more diverse service for their employers, are the most underpaid in the sector. Theirs is a labour of love. So it’s completely understandable that


our workforce is transient – why should they pay to learn more and yet earn less? Professional progress in every other business sector is rewarded financially and it’s time for the fitness industry to do the same. To meet the opportunities of the future, we need to invest in and develop the human resources that will ensure that we reach our full business potential. michael steel international business development, total gym


Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital


taken up our Employer Training Licence. This involves a quality assurance process, with their in-house training provision at Levels 2 and 3 recognised and confirmed as based on national standards. Licensed employers can react quickly to address skills gaps and immediate training needs, with their in-house training recognised by REPs and eligible for CPD points. Smaller operators may not have


the facilities to deliver in-house staff training, but this should not preclude them from investing in their people: ongoing staff development can include many creative and dynamic subjects that support commercial opportunities at the club, not to mention keeping the fitness professional ahead of the game. tom bell endorsement manager, skillsactive


Instructors should be given the chance to gain specialist skills


may 2011 © cybertrek 2011


MAY 2011


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