Fitness professionals still hard to find

The lack of trained and accredited leisure professionals in the region is leaving facility managers no option but to select new staff according to experience rather than qualifications.

That was the consensus of recreation managers taking part in this month’s Leisure Manager roundtable.

Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi director of recreation Donna Kenyon said she looked for employees with internationally-recognised qualifications, but they were not always possible to find.

“With standards still not set by the government, it’s still very much a grey area — however, experience also counts for a lot,” she said.

Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai sports and leisure manager Damith Weerasiriwardena acknowledged that companies with strict requirements regarding the standard and expertise of staff had to “go to great lengths” to ensure they hired the most qualified leisure professionals.

All participants called for standardisation of qualifications and requirements across the region, but welcomed the new internationally-recognised training organisations operating in the UAE, which helped them source good quality staff.