The UK’s leading health and fitness group David Lloyd Leisure is looking to recruit hundreds of fitness trainers to help and support its members as they get their lives back on track after the pandemic.
As the Centre for Ageing Better* reports that around 400,000 of over 50s face redundancy when the furlough scheme ends, David Lloyd Leisure is keen to hear from people of all ages who maybe looking for a new change in direction, who can bring invaluable life experience, empathy and communication skills to the fitness group’s 99 Clubs in the UK.
In 2019, David Lloyd Leisure became the first company of its kind to commit to having a Fitness Trainer aged 55 or over in every one of its clubs on average. The pledge, to be completed by the end of 2022, was made to encourage a more age-diverse environment in its gyms so that everyone feels at ease whatever their age or fitness level. It was also made a part of a wider commitment to offer older people tailored expertise and support to meet their individual needs.
This commitment followed the recommendations of Public Health England and ukactive**, who revealed that the older age groups feel more self-conscious when exercising in public and workout less often than other age groups.
Alongside the commitment, David Lloyd Leisure is introducing a training programme that will empower all of its fitness teams to deliver industry-leading support to its older members, including how to develop confidence and motivation, fitness and nutrition and advice, and how to create individual training programmes to suit specific needs.
Lucy Day, head of gym at David Lloyd Leisure, said of the commitment: “At David Lloyd Leisure we look for great communication skills, passion and empathy to work with our members – all valuable traits that often come with life experience.
The pandemic has prompted more of us than ever to re-evaluate our purpose in life and we know that many people are thinking about changing careers at this time. If you have a passion for fitness and a desire to make a positive difference to people’s lives, then becoming a fitness trainer could be for you. Age is most certainly not a barrier, and we’re looking to hear from people from all life stages and backgrounds.”
Lucy continued; “At David Lloyd Leisure we strive to provide market-leading facilities and a warm community where everyone of all ages feel welcome and inspired. Our older members have told us that having greater age diversity in our clubs helps them overcome their self-consciousness and more readily embrace exercise.”
Applicants do not need to have fitness training experience, but they will need to have achieved the entry Level 2 in Fitness qualification. Advice and tips about how to study for this are available at www.davidlloyd.co.uk/active-ageing.
To apply for a Personal Trainer role at David Lloyd Leisure please visit https://careers.davidlloyd.co.uk/
