THE COMPANY that operates leisure centres in north Shropshire has announced it is rolling out a specific training programme across the county.

Shropshire Community Trust has announced the roll out of the Rebuild programme from training provider CAWS at its gyms with the aim to inform, educate and prepare gym teams work with customers affected by Covid-19.

The Rebuild course is run virtually using content provided by world-class fitness coaches, athletes and subject matter experts, with more than 150 hours of video presentations pre-prepared to support gym teams keen to develop the skills needed to assist people who have lived with Covid-19.

Chris Stanbrook, contract manager for Shropshire Community Trust, which runs Oswestry Leisure Centre and Whitchurch Swimming Centre, welcomed the rollout.

He said: “As we approach the potential reopening date of April 12 for gyms and fitness facilities, it’s vital that our teams are expertly prepared to deal with the unique challenge presented by the Covid era.

"We’ve been running safety training and refresher courses during lockdowns, but the Covid-focused programme from CAWS was something that really stood out as adding value to our health and fitness offering.

“Rebuild is proving popular with our gym team who see this new type of training as adding greatly to their customer-focused skillsets.

"By April 12, we will have four gym staff fully qualified and ready to expertly assist those customers who’ve experienced Covid-19 at its most direct level.”

The Rebuild initiative has been personally funded by co-founders managing director, Mel Spooner, and education director, Dr Colin Robertson.

Ms Spooner said: “We’re delighted to be teaming up with Shropshire Community Trust to offer our Rebuild programme.

"As an operator, they’ve seen the necessary expertise this brings to their teams working the gym floor and just as importantly, the added value it brings to their customers who’ll be returning to much-missed facilities having lived with Covid-19.”

Dr Robertson added: “As a sector we’ve made some big claims with regard to our place in this, being preventative and part of the solution.

"Now is the opportunity for us to step up and deliver that.

"If we get this right, if we start to work with people and have that broader impact, we can grow exercise participation as a whole beyond where it’s been sat for the last 25 years easily, just by getting the right messages across now."