If you’re thinking about becoming a personal trainer you might be wondering how much it will cost to get qualified. As the health and fitness industry continues to grow, so does the demand for qualified personal trainers, there has never been a better time to invest in yourself and start a career in fitness.
This blog post will help you understand the costs associated with getting qualified as a personal trainer, and which options will be best for you, in particular the increasingly popular option of completing an online personal trainer course. Read on to discover the factors that affect the overall cost, the potential return on investment, and how you can make this dream career a reality within your budget.
Factors affecting the cost of personal trainer qualifications
Awarding organisation – legitimate personal training qualifications are regulated by OFQUAL which is a governing body. If you want to be a qualified personal trainer you need to make sure the provider you’re doing your course with is accredited by an awarding organisation such as Active IQ that is governed by OFQUAL. This may affect the cost, as cheaper course providers could keep their costs down by using less reputable awarding organisations, and while this may save you some money in the short term, your certificate may not be recognised by future employers or insurers. So make sure you check the awarding organisation when looking for a personal training course.
Delivery format – this is probably the biggest variable in cost. The 3 main options are online, blended and classroom based. If you opt for a classroom based course, you’ll have an instructor with you the entire time, teaching you all the course content and you’ll have to travel to their premises. This may mean you get a great learning experience, but it will also likely cost a lot. The company will have to pay instructors a full time wage, and will have to rent or own the premises, and all these costs will be passed on to you as the learner. You can expect to pay at least £2500 for a level 2 & 3 classroom based personal training course.
A blended option combines online learning with classroom based. You can expect to carry out a lot of the theory work on an e-learning platform, usually with video guides and webinars to help with certain topics. There will be a number of in-person or virtual workshop days that usually cover practical topics, but may also help with the theory work too. This option tends to be the best compromise between cost and learning experience. You still get the expertise of a tutor for the topics where it is most valuable but without the high price tag required when paying a tutor to teach full time. For this option you can usually expect to pay anywhere between £1000 to £2500 depending on the number and format of workshop days.
Personal training courses online in the UK have increased in popularity since the pandemic, customers have become more comfortable with learning online and less human contact making this a preferred option for a lot of people. With improvements in technology it has become possible to offer a personalised and interactive learning experience without massively compromising on quality. By automating a lot of the learning process, course providers are able to offer the courses much cheaper than blended or classroom based options. You can expect to pay anywhere from around £700 for an online personal training course.
Optional extras – this is the next variable that can affect the price you pay. It is the main way most course providers differentiate what they are offering, you’ll get the same level 2 and 3 personal training qualification, but with extra CPD (continual professional development) courses and qualifications such as exercises for older adults, training pre and post natal clients or sports massage included. These extra courses can cost anywhere from £50 to thousands depending on the course if done separately, so bundle deals where these are included with your PT course can be great value for money. They enable you to add extra strings to your bow and appeal to different niches of customers without spending loads extra on the qualifications.
This short article should give you some insight into the different variables affecting the cost of becoming a qualified personal trainer. There are options for all budgets depending on what extras, what level of accreditation and your preferred learning approach. If you’ve been considering a career in fitness then now may be the time to start your qualification.
