Skills Active Aotearoa announces final award winners for 2018 

A promoter of volunteers and a pair of community exercise heroes were the recipients of the final awards for 2018 from Skills Active Aotearoa, the industry training organisation for recreation, exercise, sport and performing arts.

The Skills Active Volunteer Development Award went to Gavin Stoddart, fitness team leader at Club Active Kilbirnie, which is part of the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre. Part of Stoddart’s role is recruiting and coordinating the volunteers who contribute to the exercise programme at Club Active, and this includes supporting them to complete on-job qualifications.

Often the volunteers are people considering a career change into the world of fitness, and getting their first qualification is a major boost to their professional exercise pathway.

Stoddart was nominated by colleague, Gillian Christian who said the dedicated volunteer system Stoddart headed up was highly successful, and praised his focus on mentoring, and emphasis on learning new skills in situ.

Meanwhile, the Skills Active Small Business Award went to The Lab Training Centre in Napier. The Lab is a high-performing exercise business that puts its local community at the centre of everything it does, and supports young Māori to thrive and succeed, through industry training.

Co-owners Patrick and Theresa O’Brien have become Skills Active assessors, and now take on members who have the desire and the potential to become qualified fitness professionals, and support them through on-job qualifications.

In doing so, they are not only showing trainees they believe in them, and growing talent for their own organisation, they are also increasing the overall skill, knowledge and professionalism of the exercise workforce.

Both of the Skills Active award winners received a carved trophy, and a grant towards future learning and development requirements.

Skills Active Chief Executive Grant Davidson “talented people like Gavin, Patrick and Theresa put in the hard work because they love what they do, and they are passionate about the difference that exercise - and qualified exercise professionals - make in people’s lives.

“It’s exciting for us to be able to give them some much-deserved recognition for the part they play in making this country a happier and healthier place.”

Images: The Lab Training Centre co-owners Patrick and Theresa O’Brien (top) and Gavin Stoddart was nominated by colleague, Gillian Christian (below).