Becoming a personal trainer can provide you with a satisfying and rewarding career. But first, you’ll want to be sure you’re choosing the best course & qualification for you. We’ve therefore put together this short guide to help you understand personal training qualifications, jobs and career opportunities.
The State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2019 states there are over 10.4 million people in the UK who are members of the 7300 fitness clubs and leisure centres; that’s a 15% penetration rate, the highest ever recorded. According to Ibis World the personal training market is worth £626M and growing. In addition, a report by Allied Market Research in August 2020 projects the online fitness market to increase globally to US$59.23 Billion by 2027. While the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a downturn in the traditional health club market, there is still a growing market for fitness professionals outside of the tradition gym environment. There is still no better time to become a personal trainer.
What to consider when thinking about becoming a personal trainer:
- Should I become a personal trainer?
- How do I become a personal trainer?
- When can I start studying my personal training course?
- Where do I find a personal trainer job?
1. Should I become a personal trainer?
If you talk to a personal trainer, many will tell you that their passion for fitness and a desire to help others achieve their goals was the main reason they did their personal training course. “Seeing someone achieve their goals” is the number one reason most personal trainers love their job. These real-life achievements – watching a client lose the weight they’ve never been able to shift, or seeing a client gain the strength they’ve never had – give personal trainers a sense of job satisfaction that many other professions lack.
If this is the kind of job satisfaction you’re looking for, it could just be a course away.
2. How do I become a personal trainer?
Your first step is to become qualified with the internationally-recognised Level 3 Personal Training Diploma. You will need to start with the Level 2 Gym Instructor Certificate as a pre-requisite, but keep in mind all TRAINFITNESS personal training course options include this level 2 qualification.
The PT course option you choose will depend on the services you want to offer as a personal trainer. While the Level 3 Personal Training Practitioner Diploma is the minimum requirement, there are additional course options, like the Specialist Diploma or Master Diploma which will allow you to offer more services and increase your appeal to a wider section of the population. Read more about this in our personal trainer career guide.
Related Resource: See How You Will Study With Our Award Winning Virtual Leaning Environment and Mobile App!
3. When can I start studying my personal training course?
With TRAINFITNESS, once you’ve selected and enrolled onto the personal trainer course, you’ll be given instant access on both our website and our mobile app. You then start studying the theory component of your fitness course by reading the information, watching any videos and animations, and doing the online worksheets and quizzes. When you’re ready, you then book onto your training clinic or into your assessment days. We offer coursers by distance study, where you study from home, in-person courses where you come to one of our venues either full time, Monday to Friday, or part time on Saturdays or Sundays. We also offer full time and part time virtual PT courses over Zoom. See all our study options here.
4. Where do I find a personal trainer job?
There are generally two types of employment scenarios once you’ve qualified. The first is an employed position where you earn a set salary, regardless of the number of personal training clients you have or the number of personal training sessions you perform. The second is a self-employed role where you pay a rental fee to the health club (or clubs) you operate in. When self-employed, your clients generally pay you directly, rather than pay the club, and your income increases the more personal training sessions you perform.
According to the Ibis World report, there is almost an equal number of employed personal trainers and self-employed personal trainers in the UK. You can read more about the pro’s and con’s of each type of employment in our blog post.
