Kirklees Active Leisure (KAL) has renewed its partnership with STA following two years of significant workforce development success that has seen the organisation reduce swimming teacher vacancies from approximately 150 vacant hours to zero across its eight leisure centres.

Since becoming an STA Approved Training Centre (ATC) in 2024, KAL has used STA’s in-house training model to recruit and develop swimming teachers, create internal tutor capacity and build a more sustainable aquatic workforce, helping to address sector-wide recruitment challenges while supporting the continued growth of its swimming programmes.

Building on the success of the partnership, KAL is now preparing to expand the range of STA qualifications delivered through its ATC. They have recently successfully launched the Baby and Pre-school qualification with two courses already delivered this year, and are now exploring further STA qualifications across the organisation to develop the workforce.

The partnership has also created new opportunities for collaboration across West Yorkshire. With neighbouring local authority leisure providers in Leeds, Wakefield and Calderdale also delivering STA programmes and qualifications, there are increasing opportunities to share experiences, discuss common challenges and learn from one another’s approaches to workforce development, training and aquatic programme delivery.

Gemma Hill-Wood, Activity, Projects & Partnerships Manager at KAL, said: “When we first partnered with STA, one of our key objectives was to address the challenges we faced recruiting and retaining swimming teachers. Two years on, we have successfully filled all vacant hours, and the ability to train staff in-house has been instrumental in achieving this.

“The flexibility of the ATC model, combined with the support we receive from STA and the development of our own tutors, has enabled us to create a sustainable pipeline of qualified teachers that supports both our staff and the communities we serve.

“The success of the partnership means we are now looking to broaden our training provision and tutor development pathway, ensuring we can continue investing in our people and maintaining high standards across our facilities.

“We have also benefited from being part of a wider network of local authority leisure providers working with STA. The opportunity to share experiences and learn from neighbouring organisations facing similar workforce and operational challenges has been incredibly valuable and is helping to strengthen aquatic provision across the region.”

Zoe Cooper, Commercial Director at STA, said: “When KAL became an STA ATC in 2024, the vision was to create a sustainable model for developing and retaining aquatic professionals. To see that partnership contribute towards reducing swimming teacher vacancy hours from around 150 to zero is an outstanding achievement and a fantastic example of what can be achieved through investment in people, training and in-house expertise.

“KAL has fully embraced the opportunities that the ATC model provides, creating its own tutor team and establishing a long-term approach to workforce planning and development.

“We are delighted to be continuing our partnership and look forward to supporting the team as they expand their qualification portfolio, develop additional tutor capacity and continue helping to strengthen the aquatic workforce across West Yorkshire.”

STA’s ATC model enables leisure operators to deliver regulated and CIMSPA-endorsed qualifications in-house through their own approved tutors, helping organisations develop sustainable aquatic workforces, address skills shortages and create long-term career pathways within the sector