News & Events

YMCA Fitness Industry Training (YMCAfit) and Aspire, the spinal cord injury charity, have created Instructability, which is a ground-breaking project to increase the employment of disabled fitness professionals within the leisure industry.

Instructability offers Level 2 fitness instructor training specifically for disabled people, leading to an internationally recognised qualification. Once qualified, participants are given support to find placements and employment in the fitness industry.

Hilary Farmiloe, Inclusion Manager at Aspire says, “Over the past year we have successfully run the project at the Aspire National Training Centre in North West London.

“We were keen to find a different venue to enable disabled people in another part of London to access the course, so we were delighted when Surrey Docks agreed to be a host training centre.

“Fitness gyms in Southwark and surrounding areas will also benefit from the opportunity of having one of the qualified instructors volunteer to work in their centre.”

Claire Jenkin from Fusion Lifestyle said, “We are keen to support innovative projects to support disabled members of our community. This partnership reaffirms our commitment to ensure our centres are inclusive for everyone who wishes to use them”.

The Instructability project was recently featured in the BBC One programme Saints and Scroungers.
The show follows 25 year-old John Craig. John is blind and because of his disability, was struggling to find work that satisfied his passion for sport and fitness.

John said: “When I found out about the Instructability course I didn’t believe what I was hearing, this was the break I was trying to get for ages. After I passed the course I thought this is going to be the start of a fantastic future”.

John is now working as a fitness instructor for Virgin Active.

Fran Brown, a wheelchair user and recent graduate of the Instructability programme says that people living with disabilities continue to face discrimination and a degree of prejudice either working in or using health and fitness facilities.

Fran said: "I often feel self-conscious in the gym environment, and this isn't helped in many gyms which don't have the correct equipment or staff who are willing to help. Instructability is a great initiative - it is giving me the skills and experience to secure an entry level job in the industry, and hopefully by increasing the numbers of people working in the sector who have a disability it will send a positive signal to people in the same boat who may be put off using a gym."

The next course takes place at Surrey Docks Watersports Centre, starting in February and is free to anyone who is disabled, unemployed, over 16 years old and living in London.

To request further details email instructability@aspire.org.uk