We’re proud of our learning & development culture where we continually develop and improve the skills of our people and our customers. We are a training centre which qualifies our own and external lifeguards, swimming teachers and first aiders. Our managers and subject matter experts continually develop all roles across our sites & schools as well as our coaching, head office and health & wellbeing teams.
Our gym and health & fitness instructors are fundamental in supporting the skills of our customers in helping them achieve their well-being goals, and our sports development team of coaches and swimming teachers support children in skills for their sport of choice as well as the life skill of swimming.
Over the years we have built a solid partnership with West Lothian College supporting the development of West Lothian students and creating a successful pathway from ‘Education to Employment’ through the following programmes:
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West Lothian College course |
West Lothian Leisure employment |
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Step into Sport & Leisure |
Lifeguards & customer Service Assistants |
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HNC/HND Fitness, Health and Exercise |
Gym instructors and health & fitness instructors |
Please read on for the story of one of our duty supervisors who came to us first as a student through a work placement, starting employment as a gym instructor.
I began my fitness journey in West Lothian College back in 2016, where I spent three years learning about health, fitness & exercise. It was in HNC where I conducted my placement at Xcite Broxburn, where I really began to learn about the fitness & leisure industry. Before my placement I would have considered myself a shy young man, and thanks to the chatty nature and kindness of the Xcite Broxburn team, I came out with more confidence in myself than I ever had before. During the placement I got to learn about all areas of the facility and gained loads of information on the industry.
After I gained an A in my HNC in 2018, a part time job opportunity as a gym instructor came up at Xcite Broxburn for which I just knew I had to apply. Two interviews later I received the best phone call to say I was successful and got the job! I was part time in Xcite and still at college completing my HND which really enhanced my learning by both working in the industry and studying about the industry. After my HND, I became full time at Xcite Broxburn, where I remained a full-time gym instructor and key holder until 2022. At the end of 2022, I sadly left my peers at Xcite Broxburn to take a big step by going to Xcite Craigswood as a duty supervisor.
In 2023, our learning & development specialist knew I had a passion and ideas for improving the work placement programme, so knowing I had been through the process myself, they asked me for support and to help make those ideas happen. We wanted to make the experience specific to what the student wanted and an easier journey for our education to employment pathway. In 2024, I organized all the time and dates for the students that came to Xcite Craigswood which was a rewarding challenge for me. I aimed to make sure each student got the best experience they could and that would suit their needs and with the hopes they would finish their placements with the same eagerness to work for Xcite as I did.
It’s now over five years since I began to work in Xcite West Lothian Leisure, where I started as a shy young man, and I have now developed into a confident supervisor who aims to help make Xcite Craigswood a ‘centre of excellence where successes are everyday stories’.
