Health club operator Fitness First has appointed Premier Training to improve the standard of its UK workforce.

The health club giant is investing in training up 500 members of staff and hoping to provide all of its fitness staff with a qualification at Level 3 NVQ and making sure that its non-fitness qualified staff are trained up at Level 2 NVQ.

Premier Training will deliver the NVQ Level 2 Certificate in Instructing Exercise and Fitness and the NVQ Level 3 in Instructing Physical Activity and Exercise. The modules leading to these qualifications will be the NASM Introduction to Personal Fitness Training and NASM Certified Personal Trainer respectively.

As part of its strategy to improve services for members, the group is also launching a drive to recruit 100 apprentices.

These will be trained by Premier Training with funding provided partly by the government's apprenticeship scheme aimed at nurturing young talent and winning places in employment.

Keith Selwood, spokesperson for Fitness First, said: "We're embarking on this project in order to up skill our current workforce."