Entry and progression in the future market of "fitness and health": Which educational offer suits me?
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Bar ohne Namen
Entschlossen verweigert sich Savage, der Bar einen Namen zu geben. Stattdessen sind drei klassische Design-Symbole das Logo der Trinkstätte in Dalston: ein gelbes Quadrat, ein rotes Viereck, ein blauer Kreis. Am meisten wurmt den sympathischen Franzosen dabei, dass es kein Gelbes-Dreieck-Emoji gibt. Das erschwert auf komische Weise die Kommunikation. Der Instagram Account lautet: a_bar_with_shapes-for_a_name und anderenorts tauchen die Begriffe ‘Savage Bar’ oder eben ‚Bauhaus Bar‘ auf.
Für den BCB bringt Savage nun sein Barkonzept mit und mixt für uns mit Unterstützung von Russian Standard Vodka an der perfekten Bar dazu.
- Feature Practice: Possible applications
- Feature Quality: For professionals
- Theoretical expertise: The basis
- For permanent employment: 3-year vocational training
- For managers: University degree
- For (freelance) trainers a.o.: Further and continuing education
Why should I become a fitness and health professional?
Matthias Horx's Future Institute leaves no doubt about the relevance*: "Through the fight against the pandemic as well as the impact of Covid-19 on mental well-being, a new focus on health as a task for society as a whole is emerging." A few lines further, the reference to the current change: "A particular symptom cannot be considered in isolation from the rest of the body, and the body cannot be considered in isolation from the individual's mental state, behavioural patterns, lifestyle, habits, social integration, work environment and environment." The Federal Ministry of Health defines the market to this approach: "The second health market is generally understood to include (...) individual health services, fitness and wellness, health tourism and - in part - the areas of sport/leisure, nutrition and housing." The significant, continuous and crisis-proof growth of the health market in general as well as the fitness market in particular during the past decades confirm: Health and fitness offer exciting career prospects - of all kinds!
More and more young people therefore see their professional future in these huge, global growth markets. The educational offer is correspondingly large - and correspondingly diverse.
But which offer suits which person and which career aspiration?
The following gives an overview…
How do I identify my future job opportunities in a training programme?
The more practical elements a training programme contains, the more confident the graduate will be in performing his or her job. This basically applies to all training, further and continuing education - including the relevant higher education or study programmes. The greater the chances of finding an attractive job. A close look at the practical components of a training programme also allows conclusions to be drawn about what the later employment opportunities will probably look like. So: Before deciding on a training measure - no matter what kind - the interested party should take a close look at whether these are more practically oriented (as for example with the offers of the International Fitness Academy IFAA) or more theoretically designed. Particularly in the fitness and health care sectors, this sometimes results in significantly different job profiles, which can have a lasting effect on the - subjectively perceived - attractiveness of the future everyday working life.
Which educational offers are for professionals, which are more for accomplished amateur athletes?
The infinite number of educational offers in the fitness and health market also differ in terms of concept and delivery method: whether online or face-to-face, whether LIVE or "on demand", whether simple & inexpensive or rather sophisticated & and somewhat more expensive... Do they all fit my requirements if I am a professional or want to become one? Simple truisms also work here in part: What costs nothing is usually worth less. For a hobby sportsman who wants to broaden his horizons a little, simple online "bargains" on YouTube or elsewhere might be good enough. However, if you want to earn your money by guiding and developing others, you should orientate yourself towards established training providers who have been successfully active in the market for a long time and who have professionalism and a lot of expertise of their own - even if their offers sometimes cost a few euros more.
What role does theoretical expertise play?
Of course - even if the truth hurts: theory is the basis of any expertise. However, reputable training providers are usually experienced and well-versed especially in the creation of theoretical know-how offers in direct coupling with practice-oriented initial, continuing and further training and, of course, degree programmes. A training provider that has been active on the market for a long time usually also has a stable and competent pool of teaching staff. These, in turn, are the guarantors of the quality of the theoretical expertise that accompanies the training.
What qualification is usually the preparation for permanent employment?
Contrary to the short further education and training courses for fitness trainers, a three-year dual vocational training (paid by the employer) prepares trainees for permanent employment with responsible tasks in health centres, fitness studios or larger sports clubs. The practical learning at the employer is supplemented by accompanying school measures, often provided by private training providers. Some focus more on theoretical knowledge and general knowledge. Others are strongly oriented towards the needs of employers and their areas of responsibility for permanent employees. Here, industry-specific basics, organisation and management, job-related, commercial knowledge, practical sports licensing and concrete practical knowledge form the focus of the curricula. Any fees incurred are usually paid by the employer. The industry-related degrees are often private, but can be supplemented by an additional examination at an IHK if necessary. For those interested, it is definitely worthwhile to analyse the contents offered by the training institutes in detail before making their choice.
What qualification will give me a chance to get a management position?
Providers of fitness and health services such as gyms or health centres also need management staff. Some universities prepare young people for these tasks in special study programmes. One possible form of study is, for example, dual, which is a special structural interlocking of practical tasks in the company and academic training at a private, state-recognised university. The aim is to obtain a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. Especially when it comes to academic education, prospective fitness professionals should make sure that the university of their choice also attaches great importance to practice-oriented teaching content and intensive networking with employers in the industry. The practical part of the dual study programme can usually be completed nationwide in all fitness and wellness facilities, sports clubs or other sports and health companies and is remunerated accordingly by the employer. Some universities, such as the IFAA University of Applied Sciences, which will be starting for the first time in autumn 2023, even offer placement support in addition to long-standing, organic connections with fitness companies so that the dual students and the practical company match as well as possible.
Which educational offers help me as a fitness trainer, instructor or presenter (whether as a full-time or part-time, freelance or salaried employee)?
Academies offer trainers in the areas of fitness and health, group fitness, functional training, body & mind and many more many and very different further and advanced training courses. The duration of the further education courses varies from a few hours to many days, sometimes spread over several weeks. The way in which the content is taught also varies greatly. For example, there are face-to-face trainings on site, in the rooms of a studio, health centre or sports club. Some providers have also extended this live form of delivery to online video training, e.g. via Zoom or Teams. The desired training is then taught online by instructors on screen at fixed dates, saving travel and possibly accommodation costs. So-called hybrid trainings combine these two forms of training (presence and online live video). There are also purely online training courses: the training content is offered "on demand" on internet platforms. Users can access it at any time, can check their learning progress online themselves and are not bound to any dates or locations. Since trainers want to use what they have learned to instruct other people in the future, it is helpful if online training also includes attendance days. The State Central Office for Distance Learning (ZFU) checks the quality of online training courses.
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