Fitness Students at learndirect Guaranteed Job Interviews with Virgin Active to Boost Market Growth 

The UK’s leading provider of online education has teamed up with the UK’s leading luxury gym brand Virgin Active to boost employability for aspiring personal trainers in an industry worth around £1.7 billion. 

Qualified learners of learndirect’s online gym instructing and personal training courses will be guaranteed job interviews at one of the highest-end gym brands in the UK after securing a partnership with Virgin Active. 

This partnership will benefit learners studying accredited Level 2 Gym Instructing and Level 3 Personal Training courses through learndirect, The Training Room, or LEAP Academy, all of which are brands under the learndirect Digital Group. 

In addition to guaranteed job interviews, learners can also develop their interview skills, gain job application tips, and career advice.  

At-home workouts thrived during the Covid-19 pandemic because of intermittent lockdowns, but the gym market has been recovering ever since restrictions were lifted. 

Between March 2022 and March 2023, gym members rose by 3.9%, and with 15.9% of the UK population being a member of a gym², the demand for fitness professionals is evident. 

With more than 30 clubs across the UK, Virgin Active is at the higher end of the fitness market, providing a wide range of facilities alongside its fitness centre. 

Mitch Henchoz, Fitness Faculty Managing Director at learndirect, said:

“We are very pleased to be working with Virgin Active, one of the biggest and most respected employers in the UK fitness industry, to help our students secure employment after they have qualified with us. With guaranteed interviews at over 30 Virgin Active gyms nationwide, we are giving every student the opportunity to interview at facilities in their local areas, no matter where they are based. Virgin Active has great training programmes for newly qualified PTs, and we look forward to working with them to continue to improve the quality of personal training in the UK.” 

Matt Harras, UK Head of Fitness at Virgin Active, said:

“Virgin Active are committed to providing long, progressive and rewarding careers within the leisure industry. We pride ourselves on hiring the best personal trainers within the industry and we believe learndirect Fitness provides one of the best digital personal training courses within the UK. Our partnership will provide all learners a smooth transition from learning to practical work, helping share our core values of keeping high standards, always learning, always improving, and inspiring people whilst having fun.  

“At Virgin Active, we like to provide employees with long-lasting career opportunities, where employees can thrive, be supported on their own rounded growth and progression within the company. We believe that partnership with learndirect will be extremely beneficial, as we both have the common outcome of creating long lasting careers in the fitness industry for the candidates. Due to our unique and industry leading trainer journey, those that pass their certification will experience a seamless transition from learndirect to having a successful career in our clubs, where we will support them every step of the way.”

learndirect is paving the way for aspiring personal trainers to work at some of the most recognised gyms across the country. Alongside Virgin Active, the online education business has partnerships with PureGym, The Gym Group, JD Gyms, Total Fitness, and Fitness Lab. 

With the courses being online, learndirect can attract health and fitness enthusiasts from all over the country, and now that the business is partnered with gyms that span multiple locations, job prospects have increased.