Lifestyle

Disabled people invited to train as fitness instructors at Peterborough gym

InstructAbility, a multi-award winning project, joins forces with Vivacity Culture and Leisure to offer disabled people a FREE opportunity to become qualified fitness instructors, with a course starting in June at the Regional Fitness and Swimming Centre

InstructAbility was created by Aspire, the spinal injury charity, and YMCAfit, the fitness industry training provider, to enable unemployed disabled people to train as gym instructors. The newly qualified instructors are then placed within gyms to engage more disabled people in fitness sessions.

Hilary Farmiloe, InstructAbility National Project Manager says, ‘We are delighted to be delivering the first InstructAbility course in the region as part of the planned project expansion. We want to encourage disabled people to apply for the course to become instructors as well as join in fitness activities taking place across different sites when instructors are on industry work placement.

‘We believe that positioning disabled people in the fitness industry workforce can encourage other disabled people to feel more welcome and at ease in the gym environment. They are well placed to understand some of the challenges disabled people face and promote the benefits of exercise for physical and mental well-being.’

Sharon Sim, Marketing Officer for Vivacity says, ‘We are really pleased to be joining forces with InstructAbility in offering this course locally. It is a fantastic opportunity to train as an instructor and to gain face-to-face experience with our customers, many of whom have a disability themselves. It sends out a fantastic message that can only benefit the individual who undertakes the training but also our customers, employees and our organisation as a whole.’

Due to the current lack of role models, disabled people don’t often consider a career in the fitness industry, but since InstructAbility launched in 2011, over 80 people with a wide range of impairments, including wheelchair users, have qualified as instructors.

The FREE programme, funded by Sport England is open to unemployed disabled people who are over 16 years old and have some gym user experience. You can apply online at www.aspire.org.uk, call 07917 822977 or email for further information.

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