Chief Executive of Belfast City Council Suzanne Wylie, Regional Director of GLL in Northern Ireland, Gareth Kirk, and Devon Small from GLL announce 75 new jobs across leisure centres in the city.
The creation of 75 new permanent jobs has been announced by GLL, the social enterprise responsible for the operation of leisure facilities in Belfast.
GLL manages 14 leisure centres in partnership with Belfast City Council under the ‘Better’ brand.
It is creating the new jobs as part of Council’s ongoing £105m transformation of leisure services in the city.
The jobs will be created across a range of disciplines and will be based in three new build leisure centres in Belfast, which will open in late 2019 and early 2020.
This investment is part of the second stage of Council’s Leisure Transformation Programme (LTP), a decade long programme to upgrade and modernise leisure facilities in Belfast. This stage will see Andersonstown Leisure Centre, Brook Activity Centre and Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre (on the site of the former Robinson Centre) open with new, cutting edge facilities and services.
GLL will also create 100 new casual/seasonal roles which will include a mix of gymnastics coaches, swimming coaches, fitness coaches, lifeguards and summer scheme staff.
The application process for these jobs will begin in April 2019.
Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive of Belfast City Council said:
“Evidence clearly shows the importance of good and accessible leisure services for both mental and physical health. The creation of 75 jobs by our strategic partner GLL is part and parcel of Council’s transformation of leisure services in Belfast.”
“Our aim is to provide innovative leisure facilities across the city through a significant capital investment programme. In total, we will invest £105 million in seven new facilities, each with its own unique selling point, so that we minimise duplication and ensure balanced, value for money investment. Olympia is the first example of the state-of-the-art standard we are aiming for.
“This supports the ambitions of the Belfast Agenda, the community plan for the city, by improving neighbourhoods, reducing life inequalities, providing fit-for-purpose services and enabling active and healthy citizens.”
Regional Director of GLL in Northern Ireland, Gareth Kirk said:
“As a strategic partner of Belfast City Council, we are committed to contributing to the Belfast Agenda. An important part of that involves getting more people in the city, more active, more often. The creation of these jobs will be really important in helping us to promote better health and wellbeing to more people across the city.”
“Investment in health and wellbeing is a vital component of the development of any modern city. Working closely with Belfast City Council and other key strategic stakeholders we are excited to be a part of the contribution to improved physical and mental health.”
“GLL is hugely committed to its workforce and our people are our greatest asset. Part of that commitment means providing existing staff with the opportunity to develop their skills and pursue rewarding careers with us, with over 50 internal promotions delivered in the last three years.”
“There is a huge range of rewarding careers in GLL and really exciting opportunities for staff to develop and progress.”