Colin Bailey
Colin Bailey (24) has completed NVQs at level 2 and 3 in Operations and Advanced Fitness Instruction with Lifetime. Upon embarking on his apprenticeship in 2003, Colin was a Leisure Assistant at Bricket Wood Sports Centre. He hoped that his training would help him to advance his career, and his work paid off the following year, after completion of his first NVQ, when he was promoted to Duty Manager. He then moved to Harpenden Sports Centre as Duty Manager in April 2004 and was subsequently promoted to Fitness Operations Manager just six months later, whilst undertaking his second NVQ.
He explains: “I felt that in order to progress to the next level in my career, I needed to gain a national qualification, which would be recognised and respected by future employees. So I jumped at the chance when I was given the opportunity to undertake an apprenticeship. I found the learning process really relevant to my everyday job role and I was able to relate a lot of the knowledge I gained directly to my work, which helped me to put things in to context.”
“For me, the Lifetime apprenticeships suited far better than many other training courses and qualifications that I looked in to, simply because I was able to hold down my full time job at the same time and so didn’t lose any of my earning potential. Looking back, I feel sure that my apprenticeships allowed me to get the promotions I was looking for much quicker than I would otherwise have done.”
As well as enjoying the increased challenge, responsibility and financial reward, that his new role of Fitness Operations Manager brings, Colin is also undertaking personal training and has built up a number of regular clients. This is thanks to his NVQ level 3 in Advanced Fitness Instruction which allowed him to branch out as a fully qualified personal trainer. Confident about his future in the health and fitness industry, Colin is looking to focus on health, wellbeing and fitness development and is hoping to specialise in GP referrals and cardiac rehabilitation.