Duty managers from Haverhill and Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centres have gained a national qualification in supervisory management from the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management (ISRM).

The 12-day ISRM Supervisory Management Certificate course covered employment practice in sport and recreation, finance and administration of sport and recreation and sports services operations.

Duty Managers Denise Garnham, Ryan Davies, Dan Weaver from Haverhill Leisure Centre and Martin Hewitson, Tracy Leuty, Carl Deeks and Rebecca Bowden from Bury Leisure Centre successfully completed the qualification. Denise gained a Distinction on the final module.

West Suffolk College applied for £8,000 from the government-funded Skills Active EastLinks Leading The Field Project on behalf of Abbeycroft Leisure which gave all duty managers the unique opportunity to gain the national qualification at the same time.

Warren Smyth, Chief Executive of Abbeycroft Leisure, said: "It is one of Abbeycroft Leisure's highest priorities to invest in our staff. All of our managers are now qualified to industry standard and this is a commitment from Abbeycroft to our staff to invest in their professional development and enhance their career pathways."

The role of the Duty Manager is crucial to the provision of good customer service in all organisations. They are responsible for the day-to-day performance of other staff, the well-being and safety of customers and staff, as well as the day-to-day operation of the building. This requires a range of skills, knowledge and confidence, combined with experience.

Martyn Wagner, Vice Principal Business & Student Services at West Suffolk College, said: "West Suffolk College is delighted to build on our close existing working relationship with Abbeycroft by supporting them in taking advantage of current funding opportunities specifically for the Sports Sector in advance of the 2012 Games. I am particularly pleased that their training activity is already showing clear business benefits which directly link to the project funding key objectives."

Tutor Mike Shuff, of Ital Academy, said: "These managers did fantastically well. Just getting a pass in this course is the equivalent of getting 70 per cent which just shows the high standard that these people have achieved."

Stuart Wilson the Skills Active EastLinks Project Manager said: "I am delighted that the EastLinks Leading the Field project could support the staff at Abbeycroft Leisure in achieving the Supervisory Management Certificate. The project aims to allow employers and employees in sport to access training that improves their performance and this qualification does exactly that; congratulations to all those that achieved the certificate."