Sport Singapore to launch National Registry of Exercise Professionals

Sport Singapore is to launch the National Registry of Exercise Professionals which will be open for registration from April 2023 to boost professionalism in the fitness industry. It will also help build capabilities, especially in the area of safety and knowledge.

The registry seeks to institutionalise a structure that will provide a holistic overview on the size of the industry and to identity the support needed from these professionals.

With the easing of COVID restrictions, more people in Singapore have returned to fitness-based activities.  The surge in community interest has seen more sign-ups for yoga, spin classes and high-intensity interval training sessions.

The exercise professionals include personal trainers, fitness coaches, aerobics instructors, spin instructors, yoga and pilates instructors, sports performance coaches, and other fitness and wellness specialists.

The National Registry of Exercise Professionals (NREP) is similar to the National Registry of Coaches, which was launched in 2003 to raise the standard and professionalism of sports coaching in Singapore.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua said that certified exercise professionals with relevant accreditation play an important role as more Singaporeans adopt sport as a way of life.

Chua advised “through the NREP, we hope that all exercise professionals will be equipped with the relevant accreditations to raise the overall quality and safety standards of the fitness industry.”

Roy Teo, chief of industry developments technology and innovation at Sport Singapore (SportSG), said the registry is a starting point to better understand the industry and to maintain certain standards and added  “during Covid-19, there were difficulties in reaching out to everyone and rendering assistance. In the case of exercise professionals, there are a lot of them who are freelancers and self-employed.

“Hopefully, through NREP, we can capture a lot more information and reach out to them when necessary.”

NREP will take place in three phases starting April 2023

In the first phase from April 2023 - March 2024, exercise professionals will be supported to up-skill and register on the NREP through providing free membership to the National Instructors and Coaches Association (NICA). This will provide them with access to work-related advisories, training support as well as financial grants, amongst other benefits.

Exercise professionals are required to have the following to register on NREP:

• Relevant certifications in their respective chosen fields of fitness coaching

• Standard First Aid certification with AED & CPR certification

• Code of ethics acknowledgement

From April 2024, government agencies who hire a sizable number of exercise professionals including Sport Singapore, People’s Association, Health Promotion Board and Ministry of Home Affairs will only hire exercise professionals registered under the NREP. Exercise professionals will also need to have the Safe Sport Certification in addition to the certifications required in the first phase.

A later phase thereafter will see NREP strengthening the accreditation framework and further details of the requirement for a Basic Exercise Science certification and continuous education framework will be released by SportSG in due course.

This is part of the quality assurance to users of the coaching services that the exercise professionals registered under NREP are up-to-date in their fitness coaching knowledge and skills.

Aimed at building capabilities in the areas of safety and knowledge, the registry is meant to ensure that exercise professionals meet the baseline qualifications to continue to practice and provide a safe environment when coaching Singaporeans in their health and fitness journeys.

Through NREP, SportSG aims to raise the overall standards, professionalise the sector, and provide better support for exercise professionals through continuous learning and development resources. The registry will also allow the public to have easy access to these qualified exercise professionals’ profiles (coming soon).