Students celebrate professional sport qualifications

A celebration event was hosted at University of South Wales (USW) Sport Park this week, where students were awarded certificates for achieving qualified gym instructor or personal trainer status.

As part of their degrees in BSc Sport and Exercise Science, Sports and Exercise Therapy, or Strength and Conditioning, the students have now met the professional standards for the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA).

CIMSPA’s professional standards have been developed with the contribution of employers, education providers and sector leaders, to ensure current and future practitioners possess the knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to be deployed and retained in the sector.

Dr Tom Owens, Lecturer in Biomedical Science, said: “We are proud of all our students collecting their certificates today and recognising the hard work they have put in. Some of them may now choose to seek employment, or even start their own business, alongside their studies.

“By aligning the degrees to professional standards, USW demonstrates its ability to enhance the students’ employability prospects following graduation.”

Andy McGill, Higher Technical Education Manager at CIMSPA said: “We are thrilled to be supporting this event, and it is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all of the students hard work.

“Our partnership with USW means that the students benefit from a great combination of academic study and professional practice, embedding professional standards within their degree programmes.

“We look forward to continuing to support the students through their careers within the sector.”