OneRen, the Leisure Trust for Renfrewshire Council, has signed a new training agreement with STA as part of its plans to upscale the operation of its ATC (Approved Training Centre) and extend its in-house tutor workforce for swimming, lifesaving and first aid.

In 2025, OneRen, who operate five swimming pools across Renfrewshire, want to fully optimise all the benefits of being an ATC with STA, for recruitment, in-house training and workforce retention. This forms part of the Trust’s strategy to recruit new swimming teachers and lifeguards to plug the skills gap and expand its aquatics programmes, and provide professional development opportunities for existing staff.

For OneRen who are committed to delivering the highest standards in swimming teaching and lifesaving, STA’s ATC model also enables their internal tutor network to closely monitor the training rollout, and control the delivery standards on each of the courses – this includes STA’s new SCQF Level 7 Swimming Teaching qualifications.

Operationally too, STA’s unique in-house tutor structure gives OneRen the flexibility to be able to organise swimming teaching, lifeguarding and first aid courses as and when they need to, and in locations of their own choice. For lifeguarding and first aid renewals, these can also be planned based on each of the five leisure centre’s requirements, and crucially, with minimum disruption to customers.

Ritchie Kennedy, OneRen’s Area Manager – Leisure & Culture Venues, said: “We are delighted to be expanding our working relationship with STA, and we look forward to unlocking the full benefits of being an ATC. We know it will give us the flexibility and freedom to manage our own aquatic training programmes and that it will allow us to internally control our standards for teaching and lifesaving – all while providing an avenue for us to upskill staff and recruit and train new swimming teachers and lifeguards in support of our growth plans.

“Plus, administratively, working with one organisation for both swimming teaching and lifeguarding will simplify and streamline the management of all our courses for our tutors and learners,” confirmed Ritchie.

Zoe Cooper, Commercial Director at STA, a national governing body for swimming and lifesaving, said she is looking forward to working closer with the team at OneRen, to help them derive the full business benefits of STA’s ATC model.

She said: “Recruiting and training swimming teachers and lifeguards can be challenging in terms of geography and logistics; employers cannot always rely on there being an external training course available at a time, or in a location their business demands. It therefore makes complete sense for OneRen to upscale their ATC so that they have full control of all their aquatic training needs.”