October 30, 2020
Cardiff Met students in the gym
One of CIMSPA’s first higher education partners continues to produce graduates with the skills employers’ value.
Cardiff Metropolitan University developed 109 new students in line with the sector’s professional standards in the 2019-2020 academic year.
The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) partners with higher education institutions to build intuitive courses devised to unlock a student’s potential by having a clear route into and through our sector.
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.
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.
Having professional endorsement means supporting the development of meaningful relationships with employers and it is having a positive impact on attracting new students focused on their future careers.
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.”
Dr Katie Thirlaway, Dean of Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, 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.”
Cardiff Met and CIMSPA will continue to work to create a workforce for the future that the public, employers and the sector can have confidence in.
Quick look
- 100 students are now qualified to be deployed as Gym Instructors and;
- 9 students are now qualified to be deployed as Personal Trainers.
- 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. The CIMSPA-endorsed qualifications, training and CPD students complete are designed around real-world employer needs.
