Personal trainer
Also known as; PT, fitness coach, fitness trainer
Personal trainers work on a one-to-one or small-group basis to coach clients towards their health and fitness goals.
What could I earn as a Personal trainer?
Your earnings will depend on the hours you work, your location, level of experience and whether you are employed or self-employed. To give you an idea, the data presented reflects the earnings listed in job advertisements across the UK from January to December 2024, as gathered via Lightcast (March 2025). Average annual earnings reflect full-time roles (>32hours/week), however average hourly earnings are a reflection of data collected from full-time, part-time and flexible hours vacancies.
Average UK earnings
Avg. annual earnings
Avg. hourly earnings
total job postings
- Weekdays
- Evenings
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- Bank Holidays
70% of personal trainer job adverts are hiring for part time positions.
What does a Personal trainer do?
Personal trainers work on a one-to-one or small-group basis to coach clients towards their health and fitness goals. They do this by planning and delivering a creative and personalised exercise programme and providing clients with instruction as well as nutrition and overall lifestyle-management advice. They play an important role in improving the nation’s health, creating opportunities for people to get more active, more often.
Personal trainers analyse their clients’ needs, adapt and modify guidance, and provide specialist tailored advice within the scope of their practice to positively change their clients’ behaviour. They have a good awareness and understanding of when to refer their client to other professionals, such as physiotherapists or registered dietitians, for specialist information and guidance. They also need to have a comprehensive understanding of business, finance, sales and marketing to enable them to build and retain a stable client base.
Skills and behaviours
The following common or transferable skills are most frequently asked for by employers in personal trainer job adverts across the UK:
| Skills and behaviours | % Prevalence in job ads |
|---|---|
| Teaching | 45% |
| First Aid | 41% |
| Cleanliness | 24% |
| Management | 17% |
| Communication | 12% |
| Coaching | 10% |
| Organisational Skills | 5% |
| Record Keeping | 5% |
| Resilience | 5% |
| Active Listening | 5% |
To find out more about the minimum knowledge, skills and behaviours an individual must understand and demonstrate to become a personal trainer, you can visit our occupational professional standards library.
How to become a Personal trainer
There are several ways you can become qualified as a personal trainer.
Complete a qualification with a training provider
You can become a personal trainer by completing a Level 3 Certificate/Diploma in Personal Training course with one of our Training Provider Partners delivering a CIMSPA-endorsed qualification.
You can choose to complete your personal training course online, in person or via a hybrid delivery format (online and in person). The total course cost, study time and guided learning hours will vary depending on the delivery format, qualification and training provider you choose.
Course entry requirements:
To complete your Level 3 Certificate/Diploma in Personal Training, you must first complete your Level 2 Gym/Fitness Instructor Certificate. Many training providers offer the option to combine both the Level 2 in Gym/Fitness Instructing and the Level 3 Personal Trainer qualifications into one course called the Level 3 Diploma in Gym Instructing and Personal Training.
College or university
Some colleges and universities have embedded personal trainer qualifications into their learning programmes. You can browse our CIMSPA Endorsed Training Directory to check for colleges and universities that are recognised by CIMSPA for providing quality training to students. Here, you can also check what courses our endorsed colleges and universities offer as well as course entry requirements, a summary of course content/material and more information on how to apply.
Apprenticeships
You can find out more about completing a CIMSPA approved apprenticeship in Personal Training via The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) website.
Professional Standards
CIMSPA is the guardian of a single professional and apprenticeship standards framework for the sport and physical activity sector – outlining the minimum knowledge, skills and behaviours an individual must understand and demonstrate for every occupation and job role in the sector.
This standards framework is driving the development of quality education products for our workforce and supporting employers in assessing which job roles an individual is qualified for.
Personal trainer Courses and qualifications
Focus Awards Level 3 Diploma Practitioner in Personal Training
Focus Awards Level 3 Certificate in Planning and Delivering Personal Training
YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training (Practitioner), Outdoor Exercise and Sports Conditioning (603/3510/5)
YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training (Practitioner), Outdoor Exercise and Sports Conditioning
What's the best role for you?
Career paths and progression
Career pathways
Side Steps
Next Steps
Aspirational Steps
Career progression
As well as exploring new career pathways, as a personal trainer, you can also choose to progress your career by completing further training or continued professional development (CPD) in your role. This training can be added to enable personal trainers to show their expertise in additional populations, in different environments and with technical specialisms.
Examples of specialisms that may be added include are:
- Working with people with long-term conditions
- Working with older adults
- Working in the schools environment
Continuing Professional Development
Training Special Populations - Level 2
Training Special Populations
YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training (Practitioner), Outdoor Exercise and Sports Conditioning (603/3510/5)
YMCA Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training (Practitioner), Outdoor Exercise and Sports Conditioning
Find a job as a Personal trainer
The content of the job posts displayed on the CIMSPA jobs board are pulled in through feeds from websites which are not under the control of CIMSPA.
CIMSPA will not be liable for any false, inaccurate, inappropriate or incomplete information presented on the jobs board.