Personal Fitness Professional - January 2008 - (Page 13) What Is the Intent of Certification? Dr. Sal Arria, President of the National Board of Fitness Examiners, is no stranger to controversy, and his efforts to establish a national board exam opened up the floodgates and, amidst the tension, may have driven the industry to find agreement as to a standard of credibility. According to Dr. Arria, certification is a means by which we can measure the competence of individuals in a professional discipline in order to protect the consumer. “I believe that, as the industry matures, there will develop a sense of unity among certification organizations, equipment sellers and employers. With time and continued growth, I hope they come to realize we are not each other’s enemies. The enemy that we’re fighting is consumer inactivity. We should collectively be doing everything in our power to effectively meet that end.” In relaying the primary purpose of certification, Roger Earle, Associate Executive Director of Certification for the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) responds: “Certification is intended to protect the public, to create some level of distinction for those who are able to provide credible (quality) services and effective exercise prescription in a safe environment.” Mike Clarke, CEO of the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) strives to deliver evidence-based science to the health and fitness professional. “Heading into the future, personal trainers will become a part of the allied health team, and they will likely pan out as the group that is most cost-effective and powerful in delivering positive health and wellness outcomes related to weight loss, mobility and function. It’s our responsibility as a certifying body to help improve the overall standards of what personal fitness training is, making sure trainers are applying the best science possible and also recognizing that there is a business to personal training that requires an understanding of the consumer.” Dr. Cedric Bryant of the American Council on Exercise (ACE) agrees wholeheartedly that certification is intended to provide the consumer assurance of a pre-screened individual displaying a baseline of competency. He embraces initiatives to challenge certification organizations to meet a standard and offer meaningful credentials recognized by employers and consumers. “In the alphabet soup of acronyms out there, the consumer has a difficult time understanding what is a legitimate measure of competence and indicator of safety.” What Are Employers Looking For? Todd Durkin, CEO of Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, California, realizes recruiting and screening are vital to building and maintaining a staff of legitimate professionals. According to Todd, certification is important, but it makes up less than 50% of what gets a candidate in for the first and second interviews. “I’m looking for people skills above all, followed by the willingness to be part of a team. I will then delve into references and referrals, job experience, work ethic, willingness to be flexible and direct evidence of commitment (i.e. continuing education).” The certifications Todd views as prerequisites are (in no particular order) ACE, NSCA (CSCS or CPT) or NASM. He holds a respect for some other agencies but hasn’t had many applicants come in with other than the three he relies most upon. “With the three certifications serving as a cornerstone of our hiring process, I’ve found people to be adequately prepared from a technical standpoint when I look at their full scope of knowledge. The certification allows them entry to be schooled into our system.” ➤ JAN-FEB2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.