The Covid-19 Standards and Skills Task Force had its first meeting on 29 May. The purpose of the meeting was to review the EuropeActive Sector Qualifications Framework (SQF) in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Attending the meeting were representatives from the EuropeActive Professional Standards Committee, prominent European employers, academic institutions, personal training practitioners and vocational training providers.
The remit for the meeting was to discuss how the SQF, and the educational standards within it, may need to be adjusted or added to in order to maintain the relevance of the knowledge and skills of European fitness professionals. By doing this, the standards would continue to inform and support those professionals to survive and flourish in a post-Covid-19 fitness and physical activity sector.
Outcomes from the meeting included a commitment to develop guidelines as to the knowledge and skills fitness professionals will need to focus on in the ‘new normal’. Adaptions to the existing standards would also be needed with reference to the impact of physical activity on the immune system and the importance of not just physical but also social and mental well-being. It was also considered necessary to develop supplementary lifelong learning qualifications focused on online personal training and the development of broader skills to work in an outdoor environment, at home and with minimal equipment.
The Task force is now engaged in the achievement of the above outcomes and will meet again on 3 July in order to approve this work before wider consultation with the fitness and physical activity sector.