TravelEdventures is the market leader in facilitating successful student exchanges, specifically focussing on the EU’s scheme, Erasmus+ and the UK equivalent, The Turing Scheme. Both enable hundreds of thousands of students every year to benefit from visiting and staying in other countries and learning at partner universities and companies.
Today we’ll hear from Scotty who’s the Head Coach and Exercise Physiologist at the Surfers Gym about what you could learn from spending time doing a work placement in a gym or similar setting.
Are You Studying Anything Related to Physical Health and Exercise?
If you’re studying physical education, health, exercise, physiotherapy or anything else similar at a university or college, just think about how much you could benefit from actually spending time working in a gym setting. Of course, you can also spend time in a clinical setting such as a hospital, clinic or private practice but working at a gym gives you even greater breadth of knowledge and experience.
Understand the Day-to-Day
There’s the obvious day-to-day of running a gym, including maintaining equipment and understanding how everything works so you can teach gym clients how to use equipment to their best ability.
Importantly, it’s client interaction that’s high up on the list. Clients need to feel trust and confidence and will turn to gym staff for guidance. This is integral to the success of a gym and watching and learning how gym staff deal with clients helps to bring practical knowledge to your study modules.
The Business Side of Running a Successful Gym
Along with the above, the business side is massively important. Learn how to market a gym successfully through various modes including social media. Experience what it’s like to put into place promotions, discounts, special offers as well as publicising what the gym offers so its enticing and inviting.
There’s software too – obviously there’s booking systems that need to be put into place but also sound knowledge of computer programmes such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and others. Some gyms use bespoke software, and even learning different software packages helps your brain to quickly get to grips with new information. All of this is integral and important for health, fitness, exercise and physiotherapy students to understand.
University and College Courses Shouldn’t Just Be Linear
University shouldn’t just be linear, there are other options that help you understand more about what you want to do for your future career. Embarking on an Erasmus+ or Turing Scheme mobility is one way to change up your experience. Companies love seeing these experiences on a CV and it’s even proven that job seekers with these types of experiences listed do better than their contemporaries who haven’t when it comes to securing a job.
Some Final Words
Remember, as Scotty told us, even when you feel you know everything, there’s always something new to learn or something else you haven’t tried! So – what better way to impress future employers while learning something new in a different country and enjoying an experience that stays with you for life? Get in touch with us to hear more about Erasmus+ and the Turing Scheme.
Comments: