CYQ kicks off with first South African centre

Breaking the market in a new country is giving one UK fitness qualification awarding body a great reason to celebrate.

Central YMCA Qualifications (CYQ) is delighted to announce that eta (exercise training and sports academy), a leading provider of education programmes for the sport and fitness industry, has signed up as the first approved centre in South Africa to be accredited by CYQ for their training provision.

The announcement comes following a visit by the CYQ Business Development Team to the country in March, taking in the major business hubs of Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. The ten day trip was conducted as part of the UK government’s Passport to Export * scheme and saw the team visit key industry figures, government officials and further and higher education providers.

"Because of the international profile of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted in South Africa, a key focus for the government there is very much on developing skills, particularly in the fitness industry," said Lori Randall, Business Development Manager and Acting Executive Director of CYQ, "Many of the football stadiums being constructed have sports centres attached to them and so there is a need for trained fitness professionals to operate within these environments."

eta Director Linda Halliday, who visited the UK last week to officially agree the partnership, said: "We were very impressed by CYQ’s approach which was exceedingly professional, but at the same time very empathetic and facilitative.  Lori and the team were not prescriptive in any way but rather listened to our needs and offered supportive advice and resources which fit in with our existing provision. I am confident this will be a capacity building and nurturing two-way relationship."

Lori was appointed as Business Development Manager in 2007 and set about planning the international expansion of CYQ. Having already broken into markets in Europe, India and the United Arab Emirates, South Africa was identified as the next target following research into the priorities of various countries across the globe.

Alongside the creation of more accredited centres in South Africa, there is also the opportunity to market CYQ’s range of course support materials.

Lori explains: "Most of the existing course documents we saw were simple black and white text which is not a very engaging experience for the learner. Everyone we met in South Africa was blown away by the quality of our printed material and our interactive 'Anatomy For Exercise' DVD, which allows students to view a 3D model of the human body and its structures."

The team also hope that breaking into the South African market will open doors across the continent in areas such as Kenya which has a large number of new spas and associated gyms to cater for the tourist safari market, but very few skilled professionals to run them.

Gaining a CYQ approved fitness qualification will also enable individuals from South Africa to join the Register of Exercise Professionals, thus opening up job opportunities and mobility across countries around the world.

*Passport to Export is a UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) scheme offering new and inexperienced exporters free capability assessments, support in visiting potential markets, mentoring from a local export professional, free action plans, customised and subsidised training, and ongoing support.