Posted on 16 October 2025
By Amy Sabin, Business Development, Active IQ
Active IQ is proud to announce our new role as a strategic business partner to GM Active, a collaboration that reflects our shared vision of reshaping the leisure sector into a proactive driver of public health.
Why Active IQ became a GM Active Strategic business partner
At Active IQ, we believe that the leisure industry has a vital role to play in improving public health. GM Active shares this belief and has been at the forefront of shifting the sector’s focus away from being solely a “fitness provider” and towards a broader mission of health improvement and disease prevention.
By working together, we can support the workforce across Greater Manchester with the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to better serve their communities.
Building on our existing work with partners such as Future Fit for Business, this collaboration enables us to deliver our industry-leading qualifications to a wider audience - supporting inclusive activity, tackling health inequalities, and promoting preventative healthcare.
What we hope to bring to GM Active
Our ultimate goal is to help GM Active’s workforce feel empowered and equipped to engage inactive populations, support clinical pathways, and reduce health inequalities.
Through this partnership, we will:
- develop innovative training pathways for roles such as Exercise Referral Specialist and Health & Wellness Coach
- provide ongoing CPD opportunities to build staff confidence and capability
- share international insights and connections from our global network of training providers and operators to help inform workforce strategy.
We see this as a chance to not just provide qualifications, but to co-create training solutions that match the future direction of the industry.
What GM Active brings to Active IQ
Partnership is a two-way street and working with GM Active offers us valuable insight into the realities of workforce needs on the ground.
By engaging with GM Active’s network of forward-thinking operators, we can:
identify emerging skills gaps- ensure our qualifications are meeting real-world demand
- expand the reach of our programmes within one of the UK’s most pioneering regional health and activity initiatives.
This partnership strengthens our connection with the communities we aim to support and provides us with direct feedback that will help us continue to evolve.
The value of GM Active
GM Active is more than just a collective of leisure operators. It is a collaborative movement shaping the future of public health in Greater Manchester and beyond.
Their leadership in pioneering programmes, such as Prehab4Cancer, demonstrates the critical role leisure services can play in community health. By engaging local authorities, NHS partners, and grassroots organisations, GM Active has created a powerful model of collective impact.
What strikes us most about GM Active is their unity of vision and willingness to innovate. They are setting a blueprint for the sector’s contribution to public health and showing how collaboration can accelerate progress.
Looking ahead
We are excited to begin this journey with GM Active and look forward to contributing to a healthier, more active Greater Manchester. Together, we can equip the workforce with the tools they need to drive meaningful change and ensure leisure services are recognised as a cornerstone of public health.