Cardiff Met students meet sector-led professional standards
One of our first higher education partners continues to produce graduates with the skills employers value.
- Cardiff Met has supported students, through an endorsed degree programme, to meet industry-led professional standards.
- 100 students are now qualified to be deployed as Gym Instructors and;
- 9 students are now qualified to be deployed as Personal Trainers.
CIMSPA Higher Education partner, Cardiff Metropolitan University, has developed 109 new students in line with the sector’s professional standards in the 2019-2020 academic year. Cardiff Met consistently maintain their commitment to preparing a recognised and respected sport and physical activity sector that everyone wants to be part of.
Having professional endorsement means supporting the development of meaningful relationships with employers and, according to Cardiff Met, it is having a positive impact on attracting new students concerned about their future careers to their programmes.
We work with our higher education partners to build intuitive courses devised to unlock a student’s potential by having a clear route into and through our sector. Endorsed degrees are one of the many ways people are becoming involved in the sector and establishing their careers. They provide employers with qualified individuals.
Dr Rob Meyers and Dr Zachariah Gould, delivery leads at Cardiff Met, said:
“We are really excited to have been able to develop 100 of our first-year students to Gym Instructor Professional Standard and a further nine students to the Personal Trainer standards. We have a fantastic team of academics and practitioners who have worked hard to blend the learning through the first year of study to ensure that the students are not only being developed academically, but also are able to work towards industry recognised standards that have real impact upon their employability and career trajectories.
“From the feedback of both staff and students, the combination of academic study and professional practice is a powerful blend where each supports the other and everyone benefits. We are looking to develop this further in this academic year with ~200 students pursuing professional standards within their first year of academic studies”.
CIMSPA develops employer-led standards for every job role in sport and physical activity. The CIMSPA Professional Standards Framework outlines occupations and job roles within the sport and physical activity sector, by defining what knowledge and skills an individual must recognise and show to tackle a particular role.
The CIMSPA-endorsed qualifications, training and CPD you complete are designed around real-world employer needs.
Dr Katie Thirlaway, Dean for the School of Sport and Health Sciences at Cardiff Met, said:
“We have a commitment to deliver high quality practice-focused and professionally recognised education across all our programmes. The professional endorsement and collaboration with CIMSPA, which has enabled our students to gain technical qualifications whilst studying, demonstrates how higher education can positively impact on the development of our learners whilst being sensitive to the needs of the sector. Having professional endorsement is supporting the development of meaningful relationships with employers and is having a positive impact on attracting new students concerned about their future careers to our programmes”.
In 2019, CIMSPA endorsed Cardiff Met’s BSc in Sports Management. Since becoming a higher education partner, they now have endorsed their BSc (Hons) Sport Conditioning, Rehabilitation and Massage and BSc Sport and Exercise Science degrees.
We will continue to work with Cardiff Met to create a workforce for the future that the public, employers and the sector can have confidence in.