Chartered Status for fitness practitioners: More than just career development and CPD
The announcement of CIMSPA’s new Chartered Statuses for fitness practitioners brings excitement and intrigue to the sport and physical activity sector.
A blog post by James Carr, Marketing and Communications Assistant at CIMSPA
As the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) our vision is to have a sector that is recognised, respected and regulated, so everyone wants to be a part of it.
Since 2011, CIMSPA has successfully been working towards this mission with over 12,000 members and over 300 partnerships with organisations across the sector. Together, we have been leading by listening and have engaged with the full spectrum of the sector’s workforce. One of CIMSPA’s longest objectives has been to extend our offer to practitioners in the sector. However, to achieve this we were required to revise our chartered statutes.
CIMSPA has amended its chartered statutes to now include fitness practitioners as well as management professionals. We are excited to recognise the highest performing fitness practitioners within the sector and give them the recognition they deserve.
Since receiving approval of the new amendments CIMSPA has been proceeding with the internal processes to materialise the new statutes. This process has included writing professional standards and a new framework for career development. CIMSPA is happy to announce in February 2020 the process to application process to receive chartered status will go live.
During the CIMSPA and Quest NBS Conference 2020, a whole content stream will be dedicated to ‘the business of fitness’. Included shall be a focused session on ‘PTs – earning your royal chartered status’ presented by CIMSPA’s Dannielle Peel, Head of Organisation, Design and Development, and Nick Sellwood, Lead Chartered Assessor. The session will cover the assessment process and requirements to become one of the sector’s first Personal Trainers with chartered status. In anticipation of the conference and this session, we explore the importance of the new status and what it will mean for individual practitioners, specifically personal trainers.
Why introduce the chartered status for fitness practitioners?
According to Statista, With an estimated 69,000 fitness instructors in the UK, and the industry showing continued growth, the market is becoming increasingly saturated. For those clients and employers within the sector, it is becoming increasingly hard to establish the face value of a qualification and the depth of knowledge, skill and teaching time required to complete the various courses.
For example, personal trainers are increasingly becoming required to demonstrate and develop multi-disciplinary skills often beyond the requirements of their Level 3 Personal Trainer qualification. No longer is it enough to just be knowledgeable of appropriate training methods and techniques. The most effective PTs and Fitness Instructors have strong inter-personal skills, business acumen, coaching techniques, and awareness of the latest technology and trends so that they can cater to an array of new and emerging demands. According to Statista, 39% of sports and fitness occupations are self-employed either part or full time. Completing regular CPD is a timely commitment that often falls outside of their regular working hours, and is, therefore, no small feat.
CIMSPA’s chartered status aims to provide a singular method to identify the competencies of health and fitness practitioners, such as personal trainers, and to recognise those who have enhanced their professional capabilities through CPD. The new chartered status will become internationally recognised and promises to be easily understood by employers, clients, and the community. It will reflect the high standards and ethical practice of the chartered fitness professional.
We want to empower practitioners who have consistently demonstrated a commitment to go above and beyond. Whether it be honing their skills and knowledge through new courses or regular CPD. The chartered status and its accompanying use of post-nominal letters MCIMSPA(Ch) represent a commitment by the health and fitness practitioners to continue their professional development. This is achieved by evidencing their outstanding level of skills, and knowledge and by continuing their development by completing CIMSPA recognised CPD.
CIMSPA has further supported its members in achieving this by providing members with free access to our innovative e-learning platform that includes a library of over 1,500 units. Additionally, CIMSPA is continuing to work with endorsed Training provider partners to ensure all training whether in physical activity or sport is of the highest standard. Collectively, this enhanced status will reward devoted practitioners by providing them support to develop their careers and create new opportunities for wider and cross-sector collaboration.
Where can I find out more information?
Over the coming months, CIMSPA will be increasing its communications on the application process for Chartered Personal Trainers. In the meantime, be sure to maximise your chances of a successful application attend the “PTs – earning your royal chartered status” session at the CIMSPA and Quest NBS Conference 2020.
CIMSPA and Quest NBS conference 2020
CIMSPA and Quest NBS will be delivering our most comprehensive and impressive conference to date. With a total of eight themes and a programme packed full of high profile and inspiring speakers, including Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, Tara Dillon, CEO of CIMSPA, Caroline Constantine, Company Director of Right Directions (NBS and Quest) and behaviour change expert David Thomson – this is not one to miss. The agenda promises to educate, discuss and debate the best practice and the latest work within the sector.
The ‘business of fitness’ stream:
PTs – earning your royal chartered status
Nick Sellwood, Lead Chartered Assessor, CIMSPA
Danielle Peel, Head of Organisation, Design and Development, CIMSPA
“Raising the Bar” - what we’ve learned from a year’s consultation with employers and fitness professionals
Elaine Briggs, Director of Training, Education and Innovation, Future Fit Training
Understanding employment status in the gig economy landscape
Les Potton, leading HR consultant, Target HR
My PT Hub: a deep dive into tech designed to help CIMSPA practitioners
Phil Carr, CEO, My PT Hub
Additional content streams:
Additionally, CIMSPA will host other sessions exploring: Education, Leadership and Management.Quest NBS will host sessions exploring: Engagement, Operations, Customer Services and Partnerships.
When and where?
All of this will be taking place at Pride Park Stadium, Derby on 27 February 2020