13 January 2009: According to predictions, as many as one in ten workers will be unemployed by 2010. This equates to over 3 million Brits.
Gordon Brown has held an emergency jobs summit and announced a£500m package aimed at getting the long term jobless back at work. This follows last week’s announcement to create an extra 35,000 apprenticeships which will prepare the economy for a future recovery.
The good news is the health and fitness industry is bucking the trend of these current unemployment fears and shows positive signs of growth despite the difficult economic climate. Whilst many sectors are struggling in the downturn, the 2008 FIA State of the Fitness Industry figures revealed a 2.6 per cent increase in the estimated market value of the fitness industry.
Florence Orban, interim Chief Executive of the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure, says:
“As we head for the recession, many businesses are making redundancies and cutting training budgets. But our sector is growing—thanks to increased awareness on getting the nation active—and there will be around 100,000 jobs to fill by 2014.
“The National Skills Academy is already working with stakeholders, employers and training providers to create a one stop shop which will offer the best skills training to meet this demand. Employers can access lower cost training and quality approved qualifications and skills, and prospective employees can find out about the range of career and training opportunities.
The skills academy’s first programme to support national employers is the Centre of Excellence for Fitness, which helps them recruit job ready apprentices. Led by Lifetime, the centre of excellence takes individuals through qualifications in fitness instructing and personal training.
Lifetime has already seen over one hundred people from around the country complete phase one of their training. In phase two they will complete 12 weeks of on-the-job-training with one of the national employers including big names like LA Fitness and Fitness First. This training is government funded and is provided at no cost to the employer or learner.
For more information on the National Skills Academy for Sport and Active Leisure, visit www.sportactivensa.co.uk or for more information on Lifetime go to www.lifetimehf.co.uk