Kayley Stabler - My Journey to Chartered Membership

MCIMSPA (Ch)

We welcome Kayley Stabler MCIMSPA (Ch), who became CIMSPA’s first Chartered Activity and Health Practitioner member earlier this year, to discuss why she decided to achieve chartered recognition.

Individuals who are passionate, professional and competent drive the success and growth of our sector. Through sport or physical activity, they inspire and enable our nation to be active. In CIMSPA’s pursuit to showcase the excellence of the sport and physical activity sector’s workforce we present our ‘Meet the Member’ blogs. Through a variety of interviews with CIMSPA members we want to highlight the different career avenues available in our sector and show just how diverse in experience our workforce really is.

In this installment we introduce Kayley Stabler, a dedicated personal trainer and former strength and conditioning coach, who is now moving into working with medical conditions. Our conversation with Kayley about her background was vibrant and informative, and we learned what she thought about our new chartered pathway to Chartered Activity and Health Practitioner.

Could you briefly outline your background and why you decided to apply for chartered status?

I’m a personal trainer by trade and used to be a strength and conditioning coach, undertaking a lot of work with athletes. Now I want to move more into working with medical conditions and I needed something to recognise the role.

Why should current professionals join CIMSPA and apply for chartered status?

It’s super beneficial for both personal trainers and potential clients because of the recognition it comes with – having an externally validated status that sets you apart from others and keeps the industry standard.

What does chartered status mean to you personally/professionally?

Personally it has boosted my confidence. We all have those days where you question ‘Is this the right thing to do?’. It’s nice to be validated and have a good standard of the job that you do. Moving forward, I hope clients have the same confidence in my abilities.

What are the most appealing chartered benefits to you and what impact will they have on you?

The industry recognition is the top benefit for me and hopefully the sector will progress as this process is rolled out further. It’s great to be a part of an industry that has a level of accountability.

Why is it important that chartered members are recognised for the work they’ve done?

Clients can identify your sharpened status and it increases their confidence in your work. It shows that you’ve undergone a process that checks on the level of work you’ve done.

Do you have any advice for those thinking of applying for chartered status?

Go for it. I was a bit hesitant about it; thinking I wasn’t good enough or I wouldn’t pass. Even if I hadn’t I would have learned so much because it highlights your strengths and weaknesses, and you can take those weaknesses and work on them.

How did you find the chartered process?

Identifying my strengths and weaknesses was the most beneficial part for me. Overall, it was a really smooth process that didn’t take away from my day-to-day work too much.