CIT fitness students like Nikita Perry have teachers actively working in the industry, supreme networking opportunities and the ability to ply their trade in real time, on campus. Photo: CIT.
Canberra’s Nikita Perry has her sights set on the sidelines of elite sport – not as a player, but as the physiotherapist keeping them in the game.
To get there, she needed more than theory. After studying exercise science, she hunted for the hands-on experience needed to get her closer to her dream and the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) caught her eye.
“CIT courses stand out if your priority is practicality. They have the resources and facilities that allow you to use the tools you’ve been given and amazing teachers who ensure you get the most out of them,” she says. “The on-the-field practice you get means you get better quicker. That puts you ahead.”
CIT offers a Certificate III in Fitness (SIS30321) for students to become group and gym fitness instructors and Certificate IV (SIS40221) – the highest level certificate in the industry, allowing students to be personal trainers.
Each requires a semester to complete if done full time, so both can be finished in a year, but coursework is flexible for students who prefer to chip away at a reduced workload for a more extended period. Most courses are best completed on campus, but some subjects can be completed online.
Coursework involves a lot of on-the-job work at the CIT Fit & Well Fitness Centre, an on-campus “learning” gym open to the public, offering competitive membership fees that attract real-life clientele for students to test their skills on, under the supervision of fully qualified and highly experienced experts.
“Your first PT client is always a little nerve-wracking, but the amount of practical work I did at CIT helped so much with my ability to run sessions, talk to clients and get what I needed to know out of them in the most efficient way,” Nikita says.
Nikita now works at the CIT Fit & Well centre, a full circle move that CIT teacher/gym instructor Marcus Tolley says is not surprising.
“I would say our network is mostly former students,” he says. “That’s the nature of our curriculum – our students get snapped up by employers they’ve met through the course, including CIT itself.”
CIT Certs III and IV in fitness are heavy on practical education. Photo: CIT.
Having started as a teen in the fitness industry more than two decades ago, he has seen the industry evolve.
“It’s a fiercely competitive industry, and the job itself has evolved,” he says.
“In the digital age, where professionals are contending with social media, it’s more important than ever to cultivate the ability to communicate a concept with a scientific basis and foundations as simply and effectively as possible.”
He says practicality at numerous touch points is key to success and this must include a built-in industry network as a starting point.
“Yes, you learn when you get your qualifications, but realistically you learn the most from the mistakes you make in the first weeks and months on the job. Having peers and a network in place to support you in that time is critical,” he says.
“All our teachers are actively working in the industry, in fairly senior roles and that presents an immediate network for our students, which in turn opens direct pathways to the most suitable roles for them.
“Because we’re an on-campus course, students also get to network in-house and meet students from other complementary disciplines across the allied health professions.”
CIT attracts a diverse array of students to its fitness courses, from school-leavers to mature-aged and even retirees. Many overlap their fitness certificate with exercise and sports science courses.
Its alumni is littered with success stories, including those who have put the business units in the Cert IV to good use and started their own businesses in the fitness industry.
“Essentially after completing two 18-week courses you can potentially be a small business,” Marcus says.
“Many of our former students come back once per semester, as employers with industry experience, to meet new students.
“They’ll describe the expectations of working in their businesses and might even have jobs on offer.”
For more information visit Canberra Institute of Technology.
