Health Trainer

Health Trainers work closely with people to help to change their behaviour and achieve their health goals.

You will help people to assess their lifestyles and wellbeing, set goals for improving their health, agree action-plans, and provide practical support and information that will help people to change their behaviour. Depending on where you work, you could be encouraging different types of healthy activity such as; helping someone to stop smoking, planning meals to help people lose weight, or encouraging someone to get active to improve their mental health.

Health Trainer is also known as Trainer, Health Advisor.

Role Characteristics

Help people identify how their behaviours may be affecting their health
Support people to create a health plan to help make changes to improve their health
Help individuals to become more knowledgeable about things that can affect their health and wellbeing
Signpost to other agencies and professionals
Offer practical tools and techniques, advice, knowledge and encouragement to enable and motivate people to change behaviours
Develop and sustain wider community participation and responsibility for improved health outcomes

Skills

Collaboration
Goal-setting
Active listening
Advice giving
Planning
Communication

Day in the life

Watch the video about a career as a Health Trainer.

Routes into this role

Here are some example routes that can lead into this role.

Volunteering or work experience

GCSEs

BTEC

T-Level

A-Levels

How to become

There are no formal entry requirements to become a Health Trainer however you will need a good standard of English and maths, and preferably GCSE qualifications.
You might also study a BTEC, A Levels or T Level qualifications, depending on how you prefer to learn. However, volunteering and work experience is valued by employers.

Another route into becoming a Health Trainer is via an apprenticeship programme.

Where can this role lead

No matter what role you start in or where you are in your career path, there are always opportunities to develop and progress in health and care.

With experience, you could progress to Team Supervisor, or Senior Health Improvement Specialist. You could progress into practitioner roles or focus on more general public health.