Dr Glenda Rivoallan, the experienced fitness and wellbeing professional and Founder of We Talk Wellbeing has launched the first wellbeing training provision on island
The training is centred on helping individuals and organisations build in-house wellbeing capability and capacity in its people.
With more than 28 years of experience in fitness and wellbeing entrepreneurship, working in the professional services, health and fitness sectors; Glenda (pictured) and team have identified the need for organisations to equip their people with the skills to design, deliver, monitor and evaluate robust evidence based wellbeing strategies and interventions.
The first course – the L3 Diploma in Health and Wellbeing Improvement – Supporting Behavioural Change in Professional Practice, begins on March 5th 2022, and is accessible both in person and online.
Approved by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), regulated by OFQUAL/CCEA/QW and endorsed by CIMSPA the qualification will equip learners with the knowledge, understanding and skills to promote the health and wellbeing of individuals, teams and organisations and to carry out wellbeing consultations and action plans.
The course is aimed towards HR professionals responsible for wellbeing, wellbeing champions/leads who work with communities to develop wellbeing and also individuals who want to pursue a career in wellbeing. The full suite of training courses available also includes the Certificate in Health and Wellbeing Improvement, Award in Understanding Emotional Wellbeing, Award in Understanding Mental Wellbeing and Award in Supporting Behaviour Change (Health and Wellbeing).
Taught by Glenda as Head of Centre, Lead Tutor Tina Hesse who works for Mind Jersey as Children and Young People Mental Health Support Service Manager and industry specific guest lecturers, the course allows people to work and learn at the same time with the course run on 1 Sat/Sun each month for 7 months with 2 months for 1/1 support and development of portfolios.
Tina has a Masters Degree in Applied Positive and Coaching Psychology, is a Mindfulness Meditation teacher, Integrative Sandplay therapist, and Self Love coach. Tina has worked with all types of people to promote holistic health and wellbeing, and to create their best possible self and life.
Glenda leads and consults on corporate wellbeing strategy, is a life resilience coach, has a Doctoral Degree in Resilience and Mindfulness, with resilience, corporate well-being & fitness club operations being her specialist areas. As the ex Vice Principal of Highlands College, Glenda has worked with countless students, professionals and organisations to help them reach their full potential both personally and professionally.
On the importance of wellbeing provision on-island Glenda said: “Addressing wellbeing in the workplace and communities in general has never been more important. It is a critical function if we are to develop and sustain a healthy and impactful business not just for the people that interact with said organisation but also for the people who work within it.
“We know happy employees means happy customers. The costs associated with not addressing employees’ mental health issues, job satisfaction and workloads, has a considerable global impact with presenteeism and absenteeism expected to exceed £6 trillion by 2030. Our very own CI Wellbeing Report on the Professional Services sector published in 2021 demonstrated in technicolour that whilst Jersey and the Channel Islands offer a good standard of living, we are not immune to the same challenges with work life balance and happiness lower than the global average.
“If we are going to promote and develop a healthy workplace culture allowing people to live and work well, we need to invest in the very people who lead the wellbeing effort. Organisations more often than not set out with great intentions, but many of the strategies/interventions they implement are under-theorized, without a strong understanding of the key determinants of behavioural change and with no clear evidence of their efficacy and ability to bring about change- our suite of programmes addresses this.”
On the benefits of course enrolment Tina stresses: “Wellbeing should be the priority of every business and that through investing in wellbeing, it enables the development of a wellbeing culture where both the business and staff can flourish.
“This qualification looks at wellbeing holistically and gives a solid foundation for those wishing to gain a career in supporting wellbeing within organisations or for those who have been given the task to improve wellbeing in their community but do not feel fully equipped to meet the challenge. This is an exciting opportunity for anyone wishing to create a career in supporting people’s health and wellbeing, to be their best self and help teams and organisations to foster the right environment where wellbeing is a priority and people’s wellbeing needs to be understood and met.”
Glenda adds: “It’s been great to see the interest and take up already for our L3 Diploma. Feedback thus far highlights the real need for high quality education such as this in the Channel Islands.
“We are delighted to offer the course not just in person but online and with an interest free study option which has helped people to access education who ordinarily may struggle due to work commitments and funding. We really look forward to working with our first cohort”.
For more information on the suite of courses, an informal discussion on your individual requirements or how to enrol for the forthcoming L3 Diploma , please email [email protected] or join We Talk Wellbeing on their free online webinar on Thurs 27th Jan at 7pm (details to be supplied).
