The third edition of the Training Provider Forum (TPF) took place last week in Cologne, during FIBO 2019, in the afternoon of April 5. More than 60 representatives from accredited Training Providers and National Associations attended the event.
The conference commenced with a welcome from Julian Berriman, Director of the Professional Standards Committee. He reconfirmed EuropeActive’s mission to help create a prosperous, credible and respected sector in which qualified and competent fitness professionals can grow and flourish. Julian also brought delegates up to speed on progress made after last year’s International Standards Meeting (ISM) and discussed the plans around determining a certain amount of learning hours for the qualifications Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor.
Strength and Conditioning Standards
Torrey Smith, Certification Director at the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) came all the way from the United States to make the case for Strength and Conditioning Standards for PT’s. In his presentation Torrey stated that it was determined that the EQF levels do not include strength and conditioning, but that there is indeed a need for those professional standards. Next steps will include the set-up of a Technical Working Group, a review of the currently accepted standards and more, with the ultimate goal to gain proper recognition for strength and conditioning professionals in Europe.
Member Survey Results
EREPS and EuropeActive’s Communication Manager Anja Beverwijk presented the findings of the member survey, conducted very recently in February-March 2019. Anja informed the audience that the focus of 2019/2020 will be on improving the EREPS-member relationship. The survey showed that 78% is a member of EREPS because they value the importance of international (worldwide) recognition and quality-mark of EREPS. It also indicated that 63% of the current members were sure they would renew their membership when their membership year would end. Small group discussions gave way to some very interesting ideas to further improve membership and overall member/training provider communication.
What is a Master Trainer?
After a short break, Julian Berriman started the final session of the afternoon, focussing on recognising Master Trainers, or ‘those who go the extra mile’. He asked delegates what they believe a Master Trainer is, when should such a title be used? He said: “Learning comes in many forms: personal research, professional experience, attendance at events, teaching others…” but how can we quantify this? Some noteworthy answers and great examples of how-to’s came when the attendees discussed these questions.
ISM-X in Copenhagen
Julian Berriman thanked all delegates for travelling to Cologne and welcomed them to join the next event on our calendar, the International Standards Meeting (ISM), the 10th anniversary, taking place on 21 and 22 November 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark.