Fitness Australia's Industry Leaders Forum

Fitness Australia's recent Industry Leaders Forum considered the vision, future possibilities and opportunities for the fitness industry and discussed Fitness Australia's role in leading and supporting the industry to achieve future growth and success in a rapidly changing environment.
The Forum was designed to capture a diverse range of opinion from businesses currently operating within the fitness industry, including large, multi-site fitness centres, smaller chains, independent fitness centres, personal training studios, franchises, sole trading businesses, outdoor fitness, 24-hour facilities and women's-only weight loss circuits. An effective mix of business management and professional representation was also achieved amongst the delegates.
Despite the diversity of the representation, some common and important themes emerged in relation to the challenges, issues and opportunities facing the contemporary fitness industry. The most significant of these were the issues relating to workforce development and planning, quality assurance, industry credibility and reputation.
The Forum also assisted the Fitness Australia Board of Directors and management team to gain more clarity around the purpose and strategic imperatives for Fitness Australia in the years ahead. These imperatives include the continued development of a quality assurance framework for the fitness industry, standards development, workforce planning initiatives and government relations activity.
The resulting product will be a five year strategic plan for Fitness Australia that encompasses a broad range of industry intelligence and feedback. This will help to ensure that the fitness industry continues to be served by a strong and influential industry association, that is representative of the diverse views and opinions of it stakeholders, and that a common vision and purpose is shared amongst members.
Following on from the success of the Leaders Forum, an Education Forum is planned for May 2011 in order to capture the views and opinions of organisations that provide education and training services to the fitness industry.