New Zealand Certificate in Exercise (Level 5)

Gain the skills and knowledge you need to become a Personal Trainer. 

With this hands-on qualification, taught by highly-experienced and industry-connected staff, you will discover how to plan, implement and evaluate exercise programmes. By also studying nutrition and behaviour, you will be fully prepped to work with clients in a holistic manner.   

Time spent in our purpose-built, teaching gym, as well as experience with local industry, will enable you to gain a solid understanding of the role of a Personal Trainer. In addition, the chance to work with a variety of clients during the programme will allow you to develop a strong client base. 

Successful completion of this Level 5 Certificate will enable you to apply for registration as a Personal Trainer with REPs NZ (Register of Exercise Professionals New Zealand). Alternatively, you could expand your learning and career horizons with our degree programme specialising in Sport, Exercise or Health (Physical and Nutrition).    

Career opportunities

• Personal Trainer
• Exercise Consultant 

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

• New Zealand Certificate in Exercise (Level 4) or equivalent.
• In exceptional circumstances, an applicant under 20 who does not meet the academic entry requirements may be granted entry to the programme where they supply evidence of their ability to succeed on the programme.  

English Language requirements

• If English is not your first language, you must provide:
  • New Zealand University Entrance OR
  • Overall Academic IELTS 5.5 with no individual band score lower than 5.0 (achieved in one test completed in the last two years), OR
  • Acceptable alternative evidence of the required IELTS (see here for NZQA proficiency table and here for list of recognised proficiency tests).

If you need to improve your English Language skills, we offer a wide range of English programmes.

Covid-19 vaccination 

• Whilst you don’t need to provide us with evidence of your vaccination status to study this programme, please note that some placement providers may ask you for this.

Additional costs

All students will need to wear Otago Polytechnic branded clothing when they are working with clients or out with industry. We ask all learners to have a laptop or tablet that they can use for classwork.

Your workload

Full-time students will be expected to study for 36 hours per week. This will include directed teaching, self-directed learning and industry experience hours. If you choose to study part-time, you will need to study for around 16 hours per week.

Courses

Professional Practice 2 (Level 5, 15 credits)

Learn how to apply and evaluate professional practice principles of working in the exercise industry. 

Exercise Science 2 (Level 5, 15 credits)

Gain an understanding of how to apply behaviour change interventions in relation to nutrition and exercise. 

Exercise Prescription - Theory (Level 5, 15 credits)

Learn how todevelop and adapt exercise prescription to meet the needs of clients. 

Personal Training - Practice (Level 5, 15 credits)

Discover how to plan, implement and evaluate exercise programmes for a range of exercise participants.

Further study options

Expand your learning and career horizons with our Bachelor of Applied Science (specialising in Sport, Exercise, or Health (Physical and Nutrition). This can then pathway into more advanced study specialising in Physical Conditioning with our Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Science. 

Student loans and allowances  

Student loans and allowances are for domestic students only. For information about student loans and allowances please visit the Studylink website. It is important to apply for your student loan/allowance at the same time as you apply for this programme, due to the length of time Studylink take to process. Loan/allowance applications can be cancelled at any time if you decide to withdraw your programme application or if it is unsuccessful.