Steven Peet, senior leisure club team leader at De Vere Dunston Hall.

Gym Instructor

Answers supplied by Steven Peet, senior leisure club team leader at The Leisure Club for De Vere Hotels at Dunston Hall. De Vere Dunston Hall is a luxury four-star country hotel oozing with character and charm. The hotel offers 130 bedrooms (soon to be extended to 170) and boasts excellent facilities such as an 18-hole golf course and fully equipped health and leisure club.

What does the job entail?
The job is extremely wide ranging and can vary between simply greeting customers with a warm, friendly smile to writing exercise programmes for individuals with complex health issues. In a leisure environment the health and safety of customers is of particular importance so ensuring customers exercise safely and effectively is a major ongoing consideration for staff. This means supervising people in the gym while being on hand to offer help and advice and also involves regular checks on chemical levels in the pool and spa area to ensure safe bathing.

What skills and qualifications are needed?
A YMCA Gym Instructor certificate (or equivalent) is a must, along with a four-day first aid qualification. Gaining a pool plant operator’s certificate and lifeguard qualification would also be a huge advantage. Good customer service skills are vital and a degree in leisure management, sports science or similar would benefit you although they are not essential.

What type of person will fit in?
Working in the leisure industry, you must be prepared to be flexible. Leisure clubs are required to be open when everyone else is not at work so this can mean working at weekends coupled with some early starts and late finishes.
The job involves a great deal of socialising with customers so it helps if you are a naturally outgoing person. Being friendly, approachable and energetic are also valuable character traits for this job.

What are the pluses and minuses of the job?
As mentioned, the shifts can be quite irregular and it does sometimes mean getting home at 11pm before having to get up again at 5.30am the next morning. This can play havoc with your sleeping patterns at times, but
you soon get used to it. There are pluses to working shifts though, and it is nice to finish at mid afternoon if you have worked an early shift. Also, if
an early shift precedes a late it often feels like you have had a whole day off. Working in the leisure industry means you are always interacting with people of all ages and backgrounds and each customer provides a different challenge. I find one of the most rewarding aspects of this job is helping people to achieve their own personal fitness goals and aims. Seeing how they progress and develop over time gives me great satisfaction and pride.

What opportunities exist for career progression?
There are many ways to progress within the leisure industry, making a move towards management of a club or centre being just one. Exercise and
good health is now a big part of many people’s lives, so looking at the personal training route may be an option if you are that way inclined. Because the job is so wide ranging and a number of skills are required it opens up many opportunities, particularly relating to any other job that is customer service based.

What can I expect to earn?
The leisure industry as a whole is not particularly well paid. This is something I have never understood as in my opinion it is a very specialised area in which you are constantly dealing with people’s health and well-being. A starting salary for a gym instructor could be anywhere from £10,000 to £11,500, depending on experience and qualifications. This improves as you progress within the industry and salaries obviously increase substantially if you reach a management level. Added to this, you often receive other benefits, such as free use of the facilities and free meals. As you would expect, this pay scale does increase significantly if you move to an area in or around London.

Any hints on getting a job in this area?
If you are looking for a job locally in the leisure industry it is a good idea to pop into your local clubs, hand in your CV and make yourself known to the management. If I am recruiting for staff it is often beneficial for an individual if I can put a face to their name. Leisure assistants and fitness instructors are often in demand so keep an eye out in the job section in your local newspapers. If you don’t mind moving further afield Leisure Opportunities magazine is well worth looking at and they have jobs for all levels and areas in the industry.